UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


OK 


PACIFIC  THEOLOGICAL   SEMINARY. 

Accession       W84601 


Class 


Book 


Accession  No.JJ. 


LIBRARY 

GIFT  OF 


•„,—— --„-,-_-„---!: 

><^™VHI*~   ,7V    •»       JV'\       .J^V    -\       <r  V  '  \         i    *    '*  \         W«".I\         ~4.T»W     W*V.T»*     IfiT'T*"     ^   . 

^.,  j'^w-^aU.^v  jUUv/v^Ll^^uwu.O^^  y,  li^-^,a  l:^^iL ... 


PROCEEDINGS  IN  CONGRESS 


UPON    THE 


Acceptance  of  the  Statues 


JOHN  STARK  AND  DANIEL  WEBSTER, 


PRESENTED    BY 


THE  STATE  OF  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


WASHINGTON  : 

GOVERNMENT    PRINTING    OFFICE. 

1895. 


CONCURRENT  RESOLUTION  to  authorize  the  printing  and  binding  of  the 
proceedings  in  Congress  upon  the  acceptance  of  the  statues  of  JOHN  STARK 
and  DANIEL  WEBSTER,  presented  by  the  State  of  New  Hampshire. 

Resolved  by  the  Senate  (the  House  of  Representatives  concurring], 
That  there  be  printed  and  bound  in  one  volume  of  the  proceedings 
in  Congress  upon  the  acceptance  of  the  statues  of  the  late  JOHN 
STARK  and  DANIEL  WEBSTER  sixteen  thousand  five  hundred  copies, 
of  which  five  thousand  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  Senate,  ten  thou 
sand  for  the  use  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  the  remain 
ing  one  thousand  five  hundred  shall  be  for  use  and  distribution  by 
the  governor  of  New  Hampshire;  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
is  hereby  directed  to  have  printed  engravings  of  said  statues  to 
accompany  said  proceedings,  said  engravings  to  be  paid  for  out  of 
the  appropriation  for  the  Bureau  of  Engraving  and  Printing. 


CONTENTS. 


ACCEPTANCE  OF  THE  STATUE  OF  JOHN  STARK  . 

Page. 

Proceedings  in  the  Senate 5 

Address  of  Mr.  GALLINGER,  of  New  Hampshire ..  8 

PROCTOR,  of  Vermont 33 

DUBOIS,  of  Idaho 40 

CHANDLER,  of  New  Hampshire  .  _      44 

Proceedings  in  the  House  of  Representatives 49 

Address  of  Mr.  BAKER,  of  New  Hampshire 53 

POWERS,  of  Vermont 70 

GROUT,  of  Vermont 76 

BLAIR,  of  New  Hampshire 99 

ACCEPTANCE  OF  THE  STATUE  OF  DANIEL  WEBSTER: 

Proceedings  in  the  Senate 113 

Address  of  Mr.  CHANDLER,  of  New  Hampshire  __  114 

HOAR,  of  Massachusetts  134 

MORGAN,  of  Alabama.. 148 

MORRILL,  of  Vermont 157 

DAVIS,  of  Minnesota 161 

PLATT,  of  Connecticut 166 

CULLOM,  of  Illinois. ... 175 

MITCHELL,  of  Oregon 184 

LODGE,  of  Massachusetts . 208 

GALLINGER,  of  New  Hampshire  216 

Proceedings  tn  the  House  of  Representatives ___  219 

Address  of  Mr.  BLAIR,  of  New  Hampshire 222 

EVERETT,  of  Massachusetts ^ 241 

CURTIS,  of  New  York 249 

MORSE,  of  Massachusetts 253 

BAKER,  of  New  Hampshire 256 

3 


' 


ACCEPTANCE  OF  THE  STATUE  OF  JOHN  STARK, 


PROCEEDINGS    IN    THE    SENATE. 


DECEMBER  3,  1894. 

Mr.  CHANDLER  submitted  the  following  resolution;  which 
was  considered  by  unanimous  consent,  and  agreed  to: 

Resolved,  That  the  exercises  in  the  Senate  in  connection  with  the 
reception  from  the  State  of  New  Hampshire,  for  the  National  Gal 
lery  in  the  Capitol,  of  the  statues  of  JOHN  STARK  and  DANIEL 
WEBSTER  be  made  a  special  order  for  Thursday,  the  2oth  day  of 
December. 

DECEMBER  18,  1894. 

Mr.  CHANDLER  submitted  the  following  resolution;  which 
was  considered  by  unanimous  consent,  and  agreed  to: 

Resolved,  That  during  the  present  week  the  privilege  of  the  floor 
of  the  Senate  be  extended  to  the  members  of  the  council  of  the 
State  of  New  Hampshire  and  to  the  members  of  the  staff  in  attend 
ance  on  the  governor  of  New  Hampshire  in  connection  with  the  cer 
emonies  on  the  reception  of  the  statues  of  JOHN  STARK  and  DANIEL 
WEBSTER. 

DECEMBER  20,  1894. 

Mr.  CHANDLER.  Mr.  President,  to-day  has  been  set  aside 
by  special  order  of  the  Senate  for  the  presentation  of  the 


(5  Proceedings  in  the  Senate. 

statues  of  JOHN  STARK  and  DANIEL  WEBSTER  by  the  State 
of  New  Hampshire.  I  ask  the  presiding  officer  to  lay  before 
the  Senate  a  communication  from  his  excellency  the  gov 
ernor  of  New  Hampshire. 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.  The  Chair  lays  before  the 
Senate  a  communication  from  his  excellency  the  governor 
of  the  State  of  New  Hampshire,  which  will  be  read. 

The  Secretary  read  the  communication,  as  follows: 

STATE  OF  NEW  HAMPSHIRE,  EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT, 

Concord,  December  5,  1894. 

DEAR  SIR:  In  accordance  with  an  act  passed  at  the  biennial 
session  of  1893,  and  in  acceptance  of  the  invitation  contained  in 
section  eighteen  hundred  and  fourteen  of  the  Revised  Statutes  of 
the  United  States,  the  State  of  New  Hampshire  has  placed  in  the 
National  Statuary  Hall  in  the  Capitol  at  Washington  two  statues 
in  marble — the  one  of  JOHN  STARK,  the  other  of  DANIEL  WEBSTER. 
The  statues  were  modeled  by  Carl  Conrads  after  statues  in  bronze 
now  in  the  State  House  Park  at  Concord.  The  original  of  the 
WEBSTER  statue  is  by  Ball,  and  was  presented  to  the  State  by 
Benjamin  Pierce  Cheney.  The  original  statue  of  STARK  is  by 
Conrads,  and  was  erected  by  the  State. 

In  behalf  of  the  State  of  New  Hampshire  I  have  the  honor  01 
presenting  these  statues  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States. 
Very  respectfully, 

JOHN  B.  SMITH,  Governor. 
Hon.  A.  E.  STEVENSON, 

Vice -President  and  President  of  the  Senate. 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.  The  communication  will 
lie  on  the  table  and  be  printed. 

STATUE   OF  JOHN   STARK. 

Mr.  PERKINS.  Mr.  President,  I  offer  the  concurrent  reso 
lutions  which  I  send  to  the  desk,  in  relation  to  the  com 
munication  which  has  just  been  read. 


Acceptance  of  the.  Statue  of  John  Stark.  7 

The  PRESIDENT  pro  tempore.  The  Secretary  will  read 
the  concurrent  resolutions  submitted  by  the  Senator  from 
California. 

The  Secretary  read  the  concurrent  resolutions,  as  follows: 

Resolved  by  the  Senate  (the  House  of  Representatives  concurring), 
That  the  thanks  of  Congress  be  given  to  the  people  of  New  Hamp 
shire  for  the  statue  of  JOHN  STARK,  illustrious  for  military  services, 
being  especially  distinguished  at  Bunker  Hill  and  as  the  victorious 
commander  at  Bennington. 

Resolved,  That  the  statue  be  accepted  and  placed  in  the  National 
Statuary  Hall,  and  that  a  copy  of  these  resolutions,  signed  by  the 
presiding  officers  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  be 
forwarded  to  his  excellency  the  governor  of  the  State  of  New 
Hampshire. 

The  Senate,  by  unanimous  consent,  proceeded  to  consider, 
the  concurrent  resolutions. 


Address  of  Mr.  Gallingcr  on  the 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  GALLINGER. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT:  JOHN  STARK,  a  marble  statue  of  whom 
is  to-day  presented  to  Congress  by  the  State  of  New  Hamp 
shire  and  unveiled  in  the  National  Statuary  Hall,  was  born 
in  Nutfield  (now  Londonderry),  N.  H.,  on  the  28th  day  of 
August,  1728,  and  died  in  Manchester,  N.  H.,  on  the  8th 
day  of  May,  1822,  in  the  ninety-fourth  year  of  his  age. 

It  is  not  an  easy  task  to  adequately  and  correctly  portray 
the  qualities  and  characteristics  of  this  distinguished  man. 
He  was  in  many  respects  sui generis  among  the  brave  and 
patriotic  men  of  his  day  and  generation.  Plain  in  appear 
ance,  awkward  in  manner,  untrained  in  the  arts  of  social 
life,  uneducated  and  brusque,  he  nevertheless  achieved  un 
dying  fame,  and  the  luster  of  his  name  will  never  grow  dim 
so  long  as  men  love  honesty,  admire  bravery,  and  recognize 
the  grandeur  of  patriotic  devotion  to  duty  and  to  country. 
Indeed,  the  name  of  JOHN  STARK  stands  prominent,  if  not 
preeminent,  among  the  greatest  generals  who  fought  under 
Washington.  Kdward  Everett  well  said  that,  Washington 
out  of  the  question,  STARK  rendered  services  not  surpassed 
by  any  other  leader  in  the  army  of  the  Revolution.  Bold, 
aggressive,  patriotic,  and  fearless,  he  was  the  inspiring 
spirit  and  directing  genius  of  the  American  forces  at  Bunker 
Hill,  Trenton,  and  Bennington.  Others  shared  the  dangers 
and  the  honors  of  those  battles,  but  to  STARK  more  than  to 
any  other  one  man  is  credit  due  for  the  splendid  defense  at 
Bunker  Hill  and  the  overwhelming  victory  at  Bennington — 
the  Gettysburg  of  the  Revolution — which  led  up  to  the 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  9 

happy  consummation  at  York  town  of  the  long  struggle  for 
American  independence. 

Archibald  Stark,  father  of  JOHN  STARK,  was  a  native  of 
Glasgow,  Scotland,  and  was  educated  at  the  ancient  univer 
sity  of  that  city.  When  quite  young  he  emigrated  to  Lon 
donderry,  Ireland,  where  he  married.  Here  he  remained 
until  twenty-five  years  of  age,  and  in  the  year  1720  embarked 
for  New  Hampshire  in  company  with  numerous  others.  He 
had  been  preceded  by  a  small  party  in  1718,  and  was  soon 
after  followed  by  a  large  number  of  his  countrymen.  These 
emigrants  were  of  pure  Scotch-Irish  blood,  full  of  energy, 
enthusiasm,  and  courage.  They  were  descended  from  the 
Scotch  Presbyteria.ns  who  established  themselves  in  Ireland 
during  the  reign  of  James  I. 

Holding  to  a  belief  that  was  not  in  harmony  with  the 
popular  religion  of  either  Ireland  or  England,  and  being 
strongly  opposed  to  the  system  of  tithes  and  rents  then  in 
vogue,  these  men  determined  to  seek  a  home  in  America. 
The  voyage  proved  to  be  one  of  great  hardship  and  peril,  as 
the  vessel  which  brought  over  the  emigrants  had  smallpox 
on  board,  from  which  disease  Archibald  Stark' s  children 
died  on  the  voyage.  When  the  vessel  reached  the  shores 
of  America  the  officers  were  refused  permission  to  land 
in  Boston,  and  were  compelled  to  depart  for  the  wilds  of 
Maine,  where  the  first  winter  was  passed  on  the  banks  of 
the  Kennebec,  near  where  Wiscasset  was  afterwards  set 
tled.  The  trials  of  a  northern  winter  under  such  circum 
stances  must  have  been  terrible,  and  during  the  next  year, 
after  encountering  innumerable  privations  and  hardships, 
they  joined  those  who  had  preceded  them  from  Ireland, 
at  Nutfield,  N.  H.,  which  was  then  a  wilderness  on  the 


10  Address  of  Mr.  Gallingcr  on  tlie 

extreme  frontier,  where  they  were  subject  to  frequent  incur 
sions  of  hostile  savages.  Here  a  permanent  and*flourish- 
ing  settlement  was  founded,  which  in  1722  took  the  name 
of  Londonderry,  in  honor  of  the  place  in  Ireland  from 
which  they  emigrated. 

In  1736  the  house  of  Archibald  Stark  was  burned,  and  in 
consequence  he  removed  to  Derryfield  (now  Manchester), 
N.  H.,  settling  near  the  falls  of  the  Amoskeag,  on  the 
Merrimack  River,  where  he  was  soon  followed  by  several  of 
his  countrymen  from  Londonderry.  Here  Archibald  Stark 
lived  until  his  death  in  1758,  a  record  of  which  can  be  found 
in  the  old  burial  ground  in  Manchester,  the  stone  bearing 
this  inscription: 

HERE  LYES  THE  BODY  OF  MR. 

ARCHIBALD    STARK.       HE 

Departed  This  Life  June  2$th, 

1758.     Aged  6 1  years. 

Four  sons  were  born  to  Archibald  Stark  in  America, 
namely:  William,  John,  Samuel,  and  Archibald.  Each  one 
of  them  held  a  commission  in  the  British  army,  serving 
with  distinction  during  the  Seven  Years  or  French  war. 
William,  the  eldest,  served  with  signal  bravery  and  skill 
on  the  northern  frontiers,  and  also  under  General  Wolfe  in 
the  expeditions  to  Louisburg  and  Quebec.  Afterwards, 
when  the  war  of  the  Revolution  was  inaugurated,  it  is  said 
that,  hearing  the  guns  of  Bunker  Hill  at  his  home  in  Dun- 
barton,  he  hastened  to  Cambridge  and  tendered  his  services 
to  the  cause  of  independence.  Being  rejected,  and  inferior 
men  put  in  command,  in  a  moment  of  passion  he  tarnished 
his  well-earned  fame  by  accepting  a  commission  in  the 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  1 1 

British  army.     He  was  soon  afterwards  killed   by  a  fall 
from  his  horse. 

The  ashes  of  JOHN  STARK,  in  whose  memory  these  exer 
cises  are  held,  lie  beneath  ah  obscure  stone  on  historic 
ground  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Merrimack  River,  in 
Manchester,  bearing  the  simple  inscription:  "Major-Gen 
eral  Stark."  The  monument  is  a  slender  shaft  of  granite, 
seldom  seen  except  by  those  who  chance  to  pass  the  spot.  A 
more  pretentious  recognition  of  the  gratitude  of  the  people 
of  the  State  of  his  birth  can  be  found  in  the  State  House 
Park,  at  Concord,  where  a  bronze  statue  was  erected  to  his 
memory  by  the  State  in  the  year  1890,  and  dedicated  with 
great  pomp  and  ceremony.  The  oration  on  that  occasion 
was  delivered  by  Hon.  James  Willis  Patterson,  since  de 
ceased,  at  one  time  a  distinguished  member  of  this  body, 
and  whose  ability  and  eloquence  are  remembered.with  pride 
by  the  people  of  New  Hampshire.  And  now,  in  further 
recognition  of  the  State's  appreciation  of  the  remarkable 
services  and  extraordinary  career  of  this  great  man,  a  mar 
ble  statue  is  added  to  the  collection  in  the  nation's  Capitol, 
and  we  are  here  to-day  to  take  appropriate  notice  of  this 
important  event.  It  is  well  thus  to  commemorate  the  deeds 
and  virtues  of  heroes  and  statesmen,  and  on  this  point  I 
venture  to  quote  the  eloquent  words  of  the  venerable  and 
scholarly  Moody  Currier,  ex-governor  of  New  Hampshire, 
spoken  on  the  occasion  of  the  dedication  of  the  statue  of 

• 

JOHN  STARK  at  the  capitol  of  our  State.     Governor  Currier 
said: 

The  earlier  records  01  the  human  race  are  written  in  stone.  The 
first  traces  of  civilization  are  gathered  from  the  tablets  and  tomb 
stones  found  in  the  mounds  and  drifting  sands  of  Egyptian  and 


1 2  Address  of  Mr.  Galliuger  on  the 

Assyrian  deserts.  Antiquity  has  intrusted  to  marble  and  bronze  the 
keeping  of  the  sacred  forms  and  features  of  its  gods  andTnen.  Thus 
the  great  events  of  the  world,  enshrined  in  imperishable  forms  by  the 
skill  of  the  painter  and  sculptor,  become  the  permanent  foundations 
of  history,  and  the  civilized  nations  of  the  earth  have  ever  consid 
ered  it  a  sacred  duty  to  erect  statues  and  memorial  monuments  in 
honor  of  their  heroes  and  benefactors,  and  to  inscribe  upon  brass  and 
upon  stone  the  names  and  noble  deeds  of  the  men  who  have  given 
their  lives  and  fortunes  to  humanity.  Those  who  have  battled  for 
liberty  and  human  rights  are  justly  entitled  to  the  everlasting  grati 
tude  of  mankind.  The  divine  instincts  in  man  alone  are  immortal. 
Philanthropy,  patriotism,  and  justice  can  never  die;  but  the  living 
countenance  and  distinguishing  features  of  the  great  and  the  good 
may  perish  and  be  forgotten.  The  men  of  the  Revolution  have  de 
parted  from  our  sight;  their  venerable  forms  no  longer  walk  among 
us;  but  the  memory  of  their  heroic  lives  and  public  virtues  still  lin 
gers  in  the  minds  of  this  generation.  We  owe  it  to  ourselves,  to  those 
who  shall  live  after  us,  and  to  the  lovers  of  liberty  throughout  the 
world,  to  perpetuate  the  renown  and  valiant  deeds  of  the  heroes  of 
the  American  Revolution.  Monuments  of  bronze  and  of  granite 
should  lift  their  proud  heads  toward  heaven  in  honor  of  their  hero 
ism  and  their  victories,  and  their  effigies  should  stand  in  our  streets 
and  in  our  public  grounds,  where,  like  the  trophies  of  Miltiades,  they 
will  be  a  perpetual  inspiration  to  the  young  men  of  our  own  and  of 
all  succeeding  generations. 

Time  will  not  permit  of  a  full  delineation  of  the  adven 
tures  and  great  military  achievements  of  STARK.  A  hur 
ried  sketch  only  will  be  attempted,  many  interesting 
incidents  being  necessarily  omitted.  In  the  twenty-fourth 
year  of  his  age  he  left  his  home  in  company  with  his 
brother  William  and  two  other  men  and  went  on  a  hunting 
expedition  to  Baker's  River  (now  Rumney),  N.  H.,  that 
section  then  being  a  wilderness,  without  a  white  inhabitant. 
To  reach  their  destination  they  traveled  long  distances 
through  an  unbroken  forest.  While  there  STARK  was 
taken  prisoner  by  the  Indians,  and  subsequently  one  of  the 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  13 

party  (Eastman)  was  captured,  one  was  killed  by  the  sav 
ages,  and  STARK' s  brother  escaped.  When  the  Indians 
undertook  to  capture  his  companions,  STARK  interfered  in 
their  behalf,  showing  great  bravery,  and  for  this  he  was 
beaten  by  the  savages.  After  being  kept  in  captivity  for 
about  two  months  he  was  taken  to  St.  Francis,  and  here 
the  two  prisoners  were  compelled  to  run  the  gantlet,  the 
Indian  ceremony  consisting  of  making  their  captives  run 
between  two  lines  of  young  warriors  who  were  armed  with 
rods  and  sometimes  with  deadly  weapons,  with  which  the 
captives  were  beaten.  Death  frequently  resulted  from  the 
whippings  thus  inflicted. 

On  this  occasion  STARK' s  companion  was  severely 
beaten,  but  STARK  had  no  intention  of  tamely  submitting 
to  such  indignities.  As  he  approached  the  line  of  warriors, 
with  their  uplifted  rods  and  bludgeons,  he  coolly  snatched 
a  club  from  the  nearest  one  and  started  down  the  line 
swinging  the  club  in  rapid  circles  about*  his  head.  He 
dealt  far  more  blows  than  he  received,  and  scattered  the 
warriors  before  him.  The  old  chiefs,  who,  as  was  their 
custom  on  such  occasions,  sat  at  a  distance  watching  the 
ceremony,  greatly  enjoyed  the  discomfiture  of  the  young 
braves,  and  instead  of  further  punishing  STARK  seemed  to 
admire  him  for  his  reckless  bravery. 

STARK  proved  to  be  a  rather  troublesome  captive.  When 
ordered  to  hoe  corn,  he  cut  it  up  by  the  roots  and  left  the 
weeds  undisturbed,  and  when  still  further  pressed  threw 
his  hoe  into  the  river,  saying  that  it  was  the  business  of 
squaws,  not  of  warriors,  to  hoe  corn,  thus  giving  expres 
sion  to  the  Indian  idea  of  the  labor  question.  Instead  of 
being  angry  with  him,  the  Indians  seemed  pleased,  and 


1 4  Address  of  Mr.  Gallinger  on  the 

proposed  to  adopt  him  into  their  tribe  as  a  young  chief. 
He  was  subsequently  redeemed  by  certain  agents  who  were 
sent  from  Massachusetts  to  Montreal  to  look  after  captives 
from  that  State,  being  returned  to  New  Hampshire  by  way 
of  Albany.  ST ARK'S  ransom  was  one  hundred  and  three 
dollars,  while  the  savages  asked  but  sixty  dollars  for 
Eastman.  STARK  repaid  his  ransom  the  next  year  by 
money  received  for  furs  which  he  gathered  on  the  Andros- 
coggin  River,  whither  he  went  for  that  purpose. 

This  was  the  beginning  of  STARK' s  adventurous  career, 
and  the  knowledge  he  thus  gained  of  the  manners  and 
customs  of  the  Indians  was  of  great  advantage  to  him  after 
wards. 

From  1754  (when  the  Seven  Years  war  really  com 
menced)  to  1758  STARK  was  continually  engaged  in  im 
portant  military  duty,  being  recognized  as  a  fighter  of  rare 
skill  and  courage.  He  rendered  conspicuous  service  in  the 
defense  of  Fort  William  Henry,  which  was  at  that  time  one 
of  the  two  most  northerly  posts  of  the  British  dominions  in 
North  America.  After  the  unfortunate  attack  upon  Fort 
Ticonderoga,  in  July,  1758,  where  he  displayed  great  gal 
lantry  and  where  Lord  Howe  lost  his  life,  he  returned  to 
New  Hampshire  on  furlough,  and  on  the  2oth  of  August 
of  that  year  was  married  to  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Capt. 
Caleb  Page,  one  of  the  original  proprietors  of  the  township 
of  Dunbarton,  N.  H. 

In  the  spring  of  1759  STARK  enlisted  a  new  company  and 
aided  in  the  reduction  of  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point. 
During  the  campaign  of  that  year  he  rendered  valuable 
service,  but  the  capitulation  of  Canada  ended,  for  the  time 
being,  military  operations  in  America.  As  a  consequence 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  15 

he  returned  to  his  home,  busying-  himself  in  agricultural 
pursuits  and  in  the  management  of  his  mills.  He  was  also 
engaged  in  founding  a  new  township,  which  was  first  called 
Starkstown  and  afterwards  Dunbarton,  the  latter  designa 
tion  being  from  the  town  and  castle  in  Scotland  of  that 
name.  From  this  time  he  warmly  espoused  the  cause  of 
the  colonists,  and  from  his  varied  military  experience  wras 
thoroughly  equipped  to  take  a  prominent  part  in  the  war 
which  ensued  between  Great  Britain  and  her  North  Ameri 
can  possessions. 

When  the  news  of  the  shedding  of  blood  at  Lexington 
and  Concord,  on  the  igth  of  April,  1775,  reached  STARK,  he 
was  busy  in  his  sawmill.  His  memoirs,  written  by  his  son, 
Caleb  Stark,  record  the  fact  that  he  immediately  quit  work, 
went  to  his  house,  a  mile  distant,  changed  his  clothes, 
mounted  a  horse,  and  without  further  formalities  started 
for  the  scene  of  hostilities.  Along  the  route  he  encour 
aged  the  people  to  volunteer,  assuring  them  that  the  time 
had  come  to  do  battle  for  the  liberties  of  the  country. 
About  twelve  hundred  citizens  of  the  New  Hampshire 
towns  bordering  on  Massachusetts  abandoned  their  pursuits 
and  followed  their  patriotic  leader  to  Medford,  where 
STARK  was  elected  colonel  of  the  First  New  Hampshire 
Regiment.  Thirteen  full  companies  were  soon  secured, 
which,  by  action  of  the  provincial  congress  of  New  Hamp 
shire,  were  shortly  afterwards  increased  to  two  thousand 
men,  out  of  which  three  regiments  were  formed. 

On  the  1 7th  day  of  June,  1775,  the  battle  of  Bunker 
Hill  was  fought,  and  the  war  of  the  Revolution  com 
menced  in  earnest. 


16  Address  oj  Mr.    (j  alii  tiger  on  the 

This  is  neither  the  time  nor  the  place  to  discuss  the  ques 
tion  as  to  the  relative  strength  of  the  New  Hanfpshire  and 
Massachusetts  forces  engaged  in  that  contest.  The  people 
of  New  Hampshire  believe  that  their  State  furnished  the 
larger  part  of  them.  However  that  may  be,  it  is  sufficient 
for  our  purpose  to  know  that  JOHN  STARK  was  there,  full 
of  courage  and  patriotic  ambition.  The  New  Hampshire 
regiments  constituted  the  left  wing  of  the  American  line. 
Opposed  to  them  were  the  Welsh  Fusileers,  which  were 
regarded  as  the  finest  light  infantry  regiment  in  the  British 
army.  They  attacked  the  New  Hampshire  troops  impetu 
ously,  but  were  repulsed  in  a  manner  reflecting  great  credit 
upon  the  raw  recruits  who  fought  under  STARK.  Address 
ing  his  men,  STARK  told  them  that  the  eyes  of  the  world 
were  on  them,  and  that  the  cause  of  freedom  was  intrusted 
to  their  hands.  By  his  fiery  language  he  roused  them  to  a 
high  pitch  of  excitement. 

Just  before  the  battle,  General  Gage,  surveying  the  scene 
from  the  cupola  of  the  Province  House,  was  asked  whether 
he  thought  the  Americans  would  await  the  assault  of  the 
royal  troops,  when  he  replied:  u  Yes,  if  one  JOHN  STARK  is 
there,  for  he  is  a  brave  fellow. ' '  General  Gage  had  seen  him 
fight  on  the  shores  of  Lake  George,  and  knew  that  no  man 
was  truer  or  braver  than  he.  Fortunately  for  the  cause  of 
independence,  "one  JOHN  STARK"  was  there,  and  he  fought 
desperately  and  well.  Taking  a  stake  in  his  hand,  he  de 
liberately  walked  in  front  of  his  line  thirty  or  forty  yards, 
where,  planting  the  stake  in  the  ground,  he  directed  his 
soldiers  to  reserve  their  fire  until  the  enemy  reached  the 
stake,  threatening  to  shoot  any  man  who  disobeyed.  The 
order  was  obeyed.  The  British  soldiery  advanced  full  of 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  17 

confidence.  When  they  reached  the  stake,  a  deadly  volley 
was  fired  from  behind  the  rail  fence,  fortified  by  a  breast 
work  of  new-mown  grass,  where  STARK' s  men  had  been 
massed,  before  which  the  trained  battalions  of  the  British 
army  melted  away.  Three  charges  of  the  British  troops 
were  repulsed,  but  the  fourth  assault  drove  back  the  Ameri 
can  forces,  and  STARK' s  troops  were  withdrawn  from  the 
field  without  pursuit.  As  illustrating  STARR'S  true  char 
acter,  the  incident  may  be  cited  that  in  the  very  midst  of 
the  fight  he  was  told  that  his  son  was  killed.  "If  he  is," 
said  the  brave  man,  "it  is  no  time  for  private  griefs  when 
the  enemy  is  in  front;"  and  he  ordered  the  man  back  to 
his  post.  Fortunately,  the  report  was  erroneous,  and  his 
son  served  throughout  the  entire  war. 

STARK,  with  his  brave  followers,  took  post  on  Winter 
Hill  after  the  battle,  and  when  the  evacuation  of  Boston 
was  effected  he  was  ordered  to  proceed  to  New  York.  From 
this  point  he  was  sent  to  join  the  army  in  Canada,  but  while 
on  his  way  he  met  the  American  forces  at  St.  Johns  in  full 
retreat.  While  he  opposed  making  the  disastrous  attack  on 
Three  Rivers,  he  nevertheless  energetically  entered  into  it 
when  it  had  been  resolved  upon.  The  army  retreated  to 
Ticonderoga,  at  which  place  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
was  read  to  the  troops.  In  December  STARK' s  regiment  was 
ordered  to  reenforce  General  Washington  on  the  right  bank 
of  the  Delaware.  The  American  cause  was  enveloped  in 
gloom  at  this  juncture,  and  Washington  realized  the  neces 
sity  of  striking  a  decisive  blow.  The  time  had  come  for 
desperate  action,  and  beyond  a  doubt  Washington  felt  that 
the  fate  of  the  great  cause  for  which  he  was  struggling 
depended  upon  the  result  of  this  experiment.  The  river 
2  s — w 


18  Address  of  Mr.    G ailing er  on  the 

was  crossed,  and  momentous  consequences  depended  upon 
the  next  military  movement.  It  was  first  contemplated  to 
attack  all  the  British  posts  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Dela 
ware,  but  the  inclemency  of  the  weather  rendered  this 
impossible.  Instead,  the  attack  was  made  upon  Trenton, 
which  was  entirely  successful. 

In  this  battle  STARK  was  a  conspicuous  figure.  It  is  said 
that  the  New  Hampshire  troops  under  him  displayed  great 
gallantry.  General  Sullivan,  writing  home  to  Meshech 
Weare,  said: 

You  may  want  to  know  how  your  men  fight.  I  will  tell  you, 
exceedingly  well.  *  *  *  Believe  me,  sir,  the  Yankees  took 
Trenton  before  the  other  troops  knew  anything  of  the  matter; 
more  than  that,  there  was  an  engagement,  and,  what  will  surprise 
you  still  more,  the  line  that  attacked  the  town  consisted  of  eight 
hundred  Yankees,  and  there  were  one  thousand  six  hundred  Hes 
sians  to  oppose  them. 

Such  was  the  record  of  New  Hampshire  men  at  Trenton. 
Their  regiments  were  scarcely  more  than  remnants.  They 
had  seen  hard  and  discouraging  work  all  through  the  preced 
ing  summer.  They  gained  the  admiration  of  Washington 
to  such  a  degree  that  Sullivan  wrote  in  the  same  letter: 

General  Washington  made  no  scruple  to  say  publicly  that  the  rem 
nant  of  the  Eastern  regiments  were  the  strength  of  his  army,  though 
their  numbers,  comparatively  speaking,  are  but  small.  He  calls  them 
in  front  when  the  enemy  are  there ;  he  sends  them  to  the  rear  when 
the  enemy  threatens  that  way. 

As  the  hour  for  the  battle  of  Trenton  approached  Colonel 
STARK  addressed  General  Washington,  and  said:  "Your 
men  have  long  been  accustomed  to  place  dependence  upon 
spades  and  pickaxes  for  safety.  If  you  ever  mean  to  estab 
lish  the  independence  of  the  United  States  you  must  teach 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  19 

them  to  rely  upon  their  firearms  and  their  courage."  It 
was  a  bold  speech,  doubtless  intended  to  suggest  that  real 
battles  should  now  take  the  place  of  the  war  of  posts  and 
intrenchments  which  had  been  fought.  General  Washing 
ton  is  said  to  have  promptly  replied:  "This  is  what  we 
have  agreed  upon:  We  are  to  march  to-morrow  upon 
Trenton.  You  are  to  command  the  right  wing  of  the 
advance  guard  and  General  Greene  the  left."  STARR'S 
reply  was  characteristic:  "I  could  not  have  been  assigned 
to  a  more  acceptable  position." 

After  the  battle  of  Trenton  STARK  accompanied  Wash 
ington  when  he  again  crossed  the  Delaware,  and  was  with 
him  at  the  battle  of  Princeton.  Before  this  battle  the 
period  of  enlistment  of  the  men  under  STARK  had  expired, 
but  he  persuaded  them  to  reenlist  for  six  weeks,  which 
every  man  of  them  did.  Considering  the  critical  affairs  of 
the  country  at  that  time,  this  was  a  most  important  service, 
which  STARK' s  great  personal  influence  over  his  men  ac 
complished.  It  is  said  that  he  earnestly  appealed  to  the 
patriotism  of  the  men  of  the  granite  hills  who  composed 
the  New  Hampshire  regiments.  He  reminded  them  of 
their  valor  at  Bunker  Hill  and  elsewhere,  and  told  them 
that  if  they  left  the  army  all  might  be  lost.  Finally,  in 
the  spirit  of  patriotism  for  which  he  was  so  distinguished, 
he  assured  them  that  if  Congress  did  not  pay  them  their 
arrears  it  should  be  made  up  to  them  from  his  own  private 
property. 

When  the  six  weeks  had  expired,  STARK  returned  to  New 
Hampshire  to  recruit  another  regiment,  and  in  March,  1777, 
the  new  regiment  was  full  and  ready  for  service.  He 
repaired  to  Exeter  to  receive  instructions,  when  he  learned 


20  Address  of  Mr.  Gallinger  on  the 

that  through  the  influence  of  certain  army  officers  and 
members  of  Congress  a  new  list  of  promotions  had  been 
made  out  by  Congress,  in  which  his  name  did  not  appear. 
This  was  an  act  of  such  great  injustice  that  STARK  resigned 
his  commission,  saying  to  Generals  Sullivan  and  Poor,  who 
begged  him  to  remain  with  the  army,  that  an  officer  who 
would  not  maintain  his  rank  was  unworthy  to  serve  his 
country.  He  advised  his  fellow-officers  of  the  dangerous 
situation  of  Ticonderoga,  and  expressed  his  willingness  to 
reenter  the  service  when  he  could  do  so  honorably.  He 
retired  to  his  New  Hampshire  estate,  his  letter  of  resigna 
tion  being  as  follows: 

To  the  honorable  the  council  and  house  of  representatives 

for  the  State  of  New  Hampshire,  in  general  court  assembled. 
GENTLEMEN:  Ever  since  hostilities  commenced  I  have,  so  far  as 
in  me  lay,  endeavored  to  prevent  my  country  from  being  ravaged 
and  enslaved  by  our  cruel  and  unnatural  enemy.  I  have  undergone 
the  hardships  and  fatigues  of  two  campaigns  with  cheerfulness  and 
alacrity,  ever  enjoying  the  pleasing  satisfaction  that  I  was  doing 
my  God  and  country  the  greatest  service  my  abilities  would  admit  of, 
and  it  was  with  the  utmost  gratitude  that  I  accepted  the  important 
command  to  which  this  State  appointed  me.  I  should  have  served 
with  the  greatest  pleasure,  more  especially  at  this  important  crisis, 
when  our  country  calls  for  the  utmost  exertions  of  every  American; 
but  am  extremely  grieved  that  I  am  in  honor  bound  to  leave  the 
service,  Congress  having  thought  proper  to  promote  junior  officers 
over  my  head;  so  that  lest  I  should  show  myself  unworthy  of  the 
honor  conferred  on  me,  and  a  want  of  that  spirit  which  ought  to 
glow  in  the  breast  of  every  officer  appointed  by  this  honorable  house 
in  not  suitably  resenting  an  indignity,  I  must  (though  grieved  to 
leave  the  service  of  my  country)  beg  leave  to  resign  my  commission, 
hoping  that  you  will  make  choice  of  some  gentleman  who  may 
honor  the  cause  and  his  country  to  succeed 
Your  most  obliged,  humble  servant, 

JOHN  STARK. 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  21 

Notwithstanding  his  resignation,  the  intense  patriotism 
of  STARK  found  expression  in  the  fitting  out  of  all  his  fain- 

• 

ily  and  servants  capable  of  bearing  arms  and  sending  them 
to  the  front. 

When  the  letter  of  resignation  had  been  received,  the 
council  and  house  of  delegates  of  New  Hampshire  passed 
the  following  vote  on  the  2ist  day  of  March,  1777,  Colonel 
STARK  being  called  before  the  assembly  when  the  action 
was  taken: 

Voted,  That  the  thanks  of  both  houses,  in  convention,  be  given  to 
Colonel  STARK  for  his  good  services  in  the  present  war,  and  that,  from 
his  early  and. steadfast  attachment  to  the  cause  of  his  country,  they 
make  not  the  least  doubt  that  his  future  conduct,  in  whatever  state  ot 
life  Providence  may  place  him,  will  manifest  the  same  noble  dispo 
sition  of  mind. 

There  can  be  110  doubt  that  STARK'  s  resignation  from 
the  army  was  a  severe  blow  to  the  cause  for  which  he  had 
done  such  valiant  battle.  American  independence  was 
never  exposed  to  a  more  doubtful  outcome  than  at  this 
period.  The  British  Government  had  become  fully  awake 
to  the  danger  of  losing  her  American  colonies,  and  arms  and 
men  were  abundantly  supplied.  Washington  was  driven 
from  post  to  post;  Philadelphia  was  taken  by  the  British, 
from  which  place  Congress  fled ;  a  strong  army  was  march 
ing  from  Canada,  threatening  a  junction  with  the  forces 
of  Burgoyne,  which  were  gradually  but  surely  closing 
in  upon  Vermont,  Massachusetts,  and  New  Hampshire. 
The  outlook  was  desperate.  New  Hampshire  had  done  all 
that  she  could,  and,  as  public  credit  was  at  a  low  ebb,  it  was 
doubtful  if  another  single  regiment  could  be  supported. 
The  authorities  of  Vermont  had  notified  New  Hampshire 


22  Address  of  Mr.  Gallinger  on  the 

that  unless  speedy  assistance  was  forthcoming  they  must 
abandon  the  contest.  The  New  Hampshire  assembly, 
which  had  adjourned  only  a  short  time  before,  was  speedily 
convened,  and  the  condition  of  the  country  presented  to 
them.  At  this  important  crisis  John  Langdon,  a  merchant 
of  Portsmouth  and  speaker  of  the  assembly,  came  to  the 
rescue  in  these  patriotic  words: 

I  have  three  thousand  dollars  in  hard  money.  I  will  pledge  my 
plate  for  three  thousand  more.  I  have  seventy  hogsheads  of 
Tobago  rum,  which  shall  be  sold  for  the  most  it  will  bring.  These  are 
at  the  service  of  the  State.  If  we  succeed  in  defending  our  fire 
sides  and  homes,  I  may  be  remunerated;  if  we  do  not,  the  property 
will  be  of  no  value  to  me.  Our  old  friend  STARK,  who  so  nobly 
maintained  the  honor  of  our  State  at  Bunker  Hill,  may  be  safely 
intrusted  with  the  conduct  of  the  enterprise,  and  we  will  check  the 
progress  of  Burgoyne. 

As  can  readily  be  imagined,  this  generous  proposal  gave 
new  life  to  the  cause  of  the  struggling  colonists.  Rally 
ing  around  their  favorite  leader,  the  entire  militia  of  the 
State  was  formed  in  two  brigades — one  to  be  commanded 
by  JOHN  STARK  and  the  other  by  William  Whipple. 

In  this  connection  an  event  occurred  which,  while  ap 
pearing  insubordinate,  demonstrated  alike  STARR'S  wisdom 
and  independence.  Smarting  under  the  wrong  done  him 
by  Congress,  he  accepted  command  of  the  New  Hampshire 
troops  with  the  understanding  that  he  should  control  his 
own  movements  and  be  wholly  accountable  to  the  author 
ities  of  the  State.  His  commission  authorized  him  to  take 
command  of  the  militia  and  to  act  in  conjunction  with  the 
troops  from  New  Hampshire  or  those  from  any  other  State 
or  of  the  United  States,  as  it  should  appear  expedient  to 
him.  STARK  knew  that  large  military  stores  had  been 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  23 

accumulated  at  Bennington,  Vt.,  and  had  learned  that 
General  Burgoyne  had  dispatched  a  force  under  Colonel 
Baum  and  Colonel  Breyman  to  capture  them.  He  resolved 
to  go  to  the  defense  of  this  important  point  and  realized 
that  he  must  act  promptly.  At  this  moment  General 
Schuyler  ordered  STARK  to  lead  his  troops  to  the  Hudson 
to  be  placed  under  general  orders. 

His  reply  was  a  refusal  to  do  so,  because  of  the  danger 
ous  consequences  that  might  ensue  from  the  invasion 
of  Vermont,  which  reply  was  sent  to  Congress.  That 
body  condemned  his  action,  declaring  the  instructions  he 
received  from  the  council  of  New  Hampshire  "destructive 
of  military  subordination  and  highly  prejudicial  to  the 
common  cause."  STARK  hurried  his  troops  toward  Ben 
nington,  and  they  did  not  get  to  the  scene  of  hostilities 
any  too  soon.  The  troops  under  STARK  numbered  about 
one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  fifty  men,  at  least  one 
thousand  of  whom  were  from  New  Hampshire.  Opposed 
to  him  was  a  force  of  veteran  soldiers,  commanded  by 
Colonel  Baum,  a  man  of  military  learning  and  experience, 
who  had  a  battery  posted  upon  a  commanding  position. 
The  American  troops  had  no  cannon  and  scarce  a  bayonet. 

The  battle  was  fought  several  miles  from  Bennington,  on 
New  York  soil.  At  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  STARK 
gave  the  order  to  advance,  and  the  contest  began,  which 
lasted  two  hours.  Whether  or  not  he  pointed  to  the  enemy 
with  his  sword  and  said,  as  tradition  has  it,  "See  there, 
men!  there  are  the  redcoats;  before  night  they  are  ours,  or 
Molly  Stark' s  a  widow,"  it  is  certain  that  this  brave  com 
mander  engaged  in  the  contest  with  a  reckless  courage 
worthy  of  the  greatest  of  the  world's  heroes.  The  battle 


24  Address  of  Mr.    Gallinger  on  the 

was  a  terrific  one  for  those  days,  described  by  STARK  in  his 
dispatches  as  "the  hottest  I  ever  saw.  It  was  like  one  con 
tinued  clap  of  thunder. ' '  STARK'  s  horse  was  shot  under  him, 
and  then,  with  his  drawn  sword,  he  inarched  through  the 
thinned  ranks  of  his  brave  followers,  urging  them  on  to  the 
final  assault.  Vainly  did  the  German  dragoons  endeavor  to 
withstand  the  attack.  They  were  trained  soldiers  and  had 
fought  before.  Throwing  away  their  muskets,  writh  dra\vn 
sabers  they  rushed  upon  the  American  lines.  A  terrible 
volley  met  them  and  their  line  was  shattered  to  pieces. 
' '  Over  the  cannon  and  over  the  breastwork  the  excited, 
maddened,  shouting  Americans  go,  in  one  overwhelming 
stream,  and  the  field  is  won." 

After  the  battle  the  American  troops  scattered,  and  word 
was  brought  that  Colonel  Bre'ymaii  was  approaching  with  a 
large  British  reenforcement.  He  had  intended  to  join  his 
troops  with  those  of  Colonel  Baum,  but  the  bad  condition 
of  the  roads  had  prevented.  Fully  realizing  the  danger, 
STARK  hastened  to  rally  his  men.  The  defeated  troops  of 
Colonel  Baum,  such  of  them  as  had  not  been  taken  pris 
oners,  joined  the  forces  of  Colonel  Breyman.  The  fresh 
troops  of  the  British  made  a  furious  assault  upon  the 
disorganized  American  forces,  driving  them  from  point  to 
point,  and  threatening  to  reverse  the  victory  that  had  been 
won.  At  the  critical  moment  Colonel  Warner's  regiment 
appeared  upon  the  scene  and  bravely  entered  the  fight.  The 
result  was  magical.  The  British  troops  were  again  repulsed, 
and  the  day,  fraught  with  such  tremendous  consequences, 
was  finally  won.  Colonel  Baum,  a  brave  officer,  was  fatally 
wounded  in  the  first  engagement,  and  under  cover  of  dark 
ness  Colonel  Breyman  effected  his  escape  with  such  remnant 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  25 

of  his  command  as  had  survived  the  terrible  onslaught  of 
the  American  troops.  This  double  victory  resulted  in  the 
capture  of  many  prisoners,  and  also  of  one  thousand  stand 
of  arms,  two  hundred  and  fifty  sabers,  eight  loads  of  army 
supplies,  four  ammunition  wagons,  twenty  horses,  and  four 
bronze  cannon,  one  of  which  was  of  the  finest  possible  man 
ufacture,  and  was  afterwards  known  as  the  "Molly  Stark." 
It  is  said  that  Colonel  Baum,  when  being  carried  from  the 
field,  said  that  the  American  troops  fought  more  like  fiends 
than  soldiers. 

While  the  battle  of  Bennington,  in  these  days  of  modern 
warfare,  would  be  regarded  as  a  trivial  affair,  when  \ve  con 
sider  the  circumstances  under  which  it  was  fought  it  was  a 
great  and  decisive  battle.  It  furnished  one  of  the  most  ' 
conspicuous  examples  of  untrained  militia  accomplishing 
all  that  could  possibly  be  expected  of  veteran  troops.  The 
hardy  yeomanry  of  New  Hampshire,  Vermont,  and  Massa 
chusetts,  many  of  them  fresh  from  the  farm  and  unused  to 
military  life,  "advanced,"  as  General  STARK  felicitously 
expressed  it  in  his  official  letter,  ' '  through  fire  and  smoke, 
and  mounted  breastworks  that  were  well  fortified  and  de 
fended  with  cannon."  The  battle  was  as  well  planned  and 
fought  as  it  could  have  been  by  the  best  military  science  and 
talent  of  Europe,  and  this  brilliant  victory,  from  its  incep 
tion  to  its  achievement,  was  the  work  of  JOHN  STARK.  To 
the  council  of  New  Hampshire  STARK  said  in  his  report: 
"Our  people  behaved  with  the  greatest  spirit  and  bravery 
imaginable.  Had  they  been  Alexanders  or  Charleses  of 
Sweden  they  could  not  have  behaved  better. ' ' 

As  showing  the  importance  of  this  battle,  Washington 
said,  on  learning  the  tidings:  "One  more  such  stroke  and 


26  Address  of  Mr.  Gallinger  on  the 

we  shall  have  no  great  cause  for  anxiety  as  to  the  future 
designs  of  Britain."  The  "one  more  stroke,"  in  the  sur 
render  of  Burgoyne,  came  sooner  than  Washington  prob 
ably  anticipated. 

It  is  a  singular  bit  of  history  that  three  days  after  the 

battle  of  Bennington  (the  news  not  having  then  reached 

,  the  seat  of  Government)   Congress  passed  the  resolution 

censuring  STARK  for  not  having  submitted   to  the  army 

regulations. 

When  the  resolution  was  presented,  a  New  Hampshire 
member  warmly  declared  that  he  believed  the  first  battle  of 
the  North  would  be  fought  by  STARK  and  his  troops,  and 
that,  notwithstanding  the  disrespectful  things  that  had 
been  said  of  this  great  soldier,  he  should  not  be  afraid  to 
risk  his  honor  or  his  life  on  a  wager  that  STARK' s  men 
would  do  as  much  as  any  other  equal  number  of  troops 
toward  the  defense  of  the  country.  The  very  next  day 
news  of  the  victory  reached  Congress,  when,  on  motion 
of  Mr.  Bland,  of  Virginia,  a  resolution  was  passed  declar 
ing  that  the  thanks  of  Congress  be  presented  to  General 
STARK,  of  the  New  Hampshire  militia,  and  the  officers  and 
troops  under  his  command  for  their  brave  and  successful 
attack  upon  and  signal  victory  over  the  enemy  in  their 
lines  at  Bennington,  and  that  he  be  appointed  a  brigadier- 
general  in  the  Army  of  the  United  States.  Only  one  mem 
ber  of  Congress  voted  against  the  resolution,  and  thus  was 
STARK' s  apparent  insubordination  recognized  by  Congress 
as  an  act  of  wisdom  and  good  sense. 

Slighted  as  he  thought  himself  to  have  been  by  Congress, 
it  was  characteristic  of  STARK  to  neglect  to  inform  that 
body  of  his  victory,  and  the  prompt  recognition  of  the 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  27 

services  he  had  rendered  must  have  been  to  him  a  source  of 
profound  satisfaction.  He  had  disapproved,  on  the  sound 
est  of  military  principles,  General  Schuyler's  plan  of  the 
campaign,  and  his  success  justified  the  apparent  want  of 
respect  for  his  superior  officer.  Certain  it  is  that  Washing 
ton  never  called  him  to  account  for  his  refusal  to  leave 
Bennington  exposed  to  the  invasion  of  the  British  army. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  follow  in  detail  the  further  military 
career  of  General  STARK.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  during  the 
remainder  of  the  war  he  had  the  fullest  confidence  of  the 
commander-in-chief  of  the  army  and  of  Congress.  He  was 
present  at  the  battle  of  Springfield,  N.  J.,  in  June,  1780. 
He  then  returned  to  New  England  and  enlisted  a  body  of 
volunteers,  which  he  conducted  to  West  Point,  after  which  ' 
he  again  went  to  New  Jersey.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
military  tribunal  at  West  Point  which  tried  and  convicted 
Major  Andre.  He  was  next  sent  by  Washington  with  two 
thousand  five  hundred  troops  to  surprise  the  British  on 
Staten  Island.  In  the  spring  of  1781  he  assumed  command 
of  the  northern  department,  with  headquarters  at  Saratoga, 
and  while  there  learned  of  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis.  In 
April,  1783,  he  was  ordered  to  headquarters  by  General 
Washington,  and  received  the  warm  thanks  of  the  com 
mander-in-chief. 

In  1786  he  received  the  rank  of  major-general  by  brevet, 
in  pursuance  of  an  act  of  Congress  passed  September  30, 
1783.  When  the  war  terminated,  he  returned  to  his  New 
Hampshire  home  and  quietly  resumed  agricultural  pursuits. 
He  lived  forty-five  years  after  the  battle  of  Bennington, 
surviving  all  the  officers  of  equal  rank  in  the  American 
army.  He  lived  to  see  the  country  for  which  he  had  so 


28  Address  of  Mr.    Gallinger  on  the 

valiantly  fought  become  strong  and  prosperous,  and  he 
gloried  in  her  independence  and  power.  It  is  said  that  for 
many  years  before  his  death  he  had  become  a  privileged 
character  in  the  community  in  which  he  lived,  many 
strangers  calling  on  him,  and  the  most  eminent  men  in 
the  country  showing  him  respect.  Among  his  effects  were 
letters  from  Jefferson  and  Madison,  who  seemed  to  take  a 
great  interest  in  the  venerable  hero. 

Finally,  broken  down  by  age  and  physical  infirmities,  he 
quietly  and  uncomplainingly  awaited  the  final  summons. 
He  was,  in  the  truest  and  best  sense,  a  grand  old  man,  and 
well  might  it  have  been  said  of  ram- 
As  the  proud  oak  that  braves  the  pelting  storm. 

Unbroke,  unbent,  though  lightnings  play  sublime; 
Though  ninety  years  have  marked  thy  war-worn  form, 
Thou  stand'st  alone  amid  the  march  of  time. 

First  in  the  list  where  warring  champions  stood, 
Whose  freeborn  spirits  brooked  no  sceptered  lord, 

Thy  deeds  of  fame  were  writ  in  tyrants'  blood, 
And  freedom  blessed  thy  ever-conquering  sword. 

On  the  7th  day  of  November,  1849,  a  festival  of  the  sons 
of  New  Hampshire  resident  in  Massachusetts  was  held  in 
Boston.  Many  gentlemen  of  distinction  were  present, 
among  them  being  Mr.  Justice  Wood  bury,  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States;  Hon.  John  P.  Hale,  of  the 
United  States  Senate;  Chief  Justice  Parker,  of  the  Law 
School  at  Cambridge,  and  Daniel  Webster.  Mr.  Webster 
made  two  addresses  on  that  occasion,  in  the  first  of  which  he 
made  the  following  interesting  reference  to  General  STARK: 

It  was  in  this  discipline;  it  was  in  these  Indian  wars;  it  was  espe 
cially  in  the  war  of  1756  against  the  French,  in  which  almost  every 
man  in  New  Hampshire  capable  of  bearing  arms  took  part;  it 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  29 

was  here  that  the  military  spirit  of  the  country,  the  bravery,  the 
gallantry  of  these  mountain  inhabitants  were  all  called  forth.  They 
were  a  people  given  to  the  chase  and  to  the  hunt  in  times  of  peace, 
fitted  for  endurance  and  danger,  and  when  war  came  they  were  ready 
to  meet  it.  It  was  in  the  midst  of  these  vicissitudes  that  they  were 
formed  to  hardihood  and  enterprise  and  trained  to  military  skill  and 
fearlessness. 

As  one  example  out  of  many,  I  might  refer  to  Gen.  JOHN  STARK, 
well  known  for  his  military  achievements  in  all  the  wars  of  his  time; 
a  hunter  in  peace,  a  soldier  in  war,  and  as  a  soldier  always  among 
the  foremost  and  bravest;  and  since  he  is  brought  to  my  remem 
brance,  let  me  dwell  upon  the  recollection  for  a  moment. 

General  STARK  was  my  neighbor,  the  neighbor  and  friend  of  my 
father.  One  in  a  highly  important,  the  other  in  a  less  distinguished 
situation,  they  had  seen  military  service  together,  and  had  met  the 
enemy  in  the  same  field.  It  was  in  the  decline  of  STARR'S  life,  com 
paratively  speaking,  that  the  Revolutionary  war  broke  out.  He  en 
tered  into  it,  however,  with  all  the  manliness  and  all  the  fervor  of  his 
youthful  character.  Yet  in  his  advanced  age,  like  other  old  men,  he 
turned  back  fondly  to  earlier  scenes;  and  when  he  spoke  of  the  u  war" 
he  always  meant  the  old  French  and  Indian  war.  His  remem 
brances  were  of  Canada;  of  the  exploits  at  Crown  Point,  and  Ticon- 
deroga,  and  Lake  George.  He  seemed  to  think  of  the  Revolution  as 
only  a  family  quarrel,  in  which,  nevertheless,  he  took  a  warm  and  de 
cided  part;  but  he  preferred  to  talk  of  the  "war"  in  which  he  was 
taken  by  the  Indians,  as  he  was  more  than  once,  I  think,  and  carried 
to  Canada.  The  last  time  I  saw  him  he  was  seated  around  a  social 
fire  with  his  neighbors.  As  I  entered  he  greeted  me,  as  he  always 
did,  with  affection;  and  I  believe  he  complimented  me  on  my  com 
plexion,  which  he  said  was  like  my  father's;  and  his  was  such,  he 
said,  that  no  one  could  tell  whether  he  was  covered  with  powder  or 
not.  The  conversation  turned,  like  other  conversations  among  coun 
try  neighbors,  upon  this  man's  condition  and  that  man's  condition, 
the  property  of  one  and  the  property  of  another,  and  how  much 
each  was  worth.  At  last,  rousing  himself  from  an  apparent  slum 
ber,  he  said,  "Well,  I  never  knew  but  once  what  I  was  worth.  In 
the  war  the  Indians  took  me  and  carried  me  to  Canada  and  sold  me 
to  the  French  for  forty  pounds;  and,  as  they  say  a  thing  is  worth  what 
it  will  fetch,  I  suppose  I  was  worth  forty  pounds." 


30  Address  of  Mr.  Galling er  on  the 

In  brief,  I  have  given  an  imperfect  outline  of  ^the  career 
of  this  great  man.  His  son  describes  him  as  having  been 
of  middle  stature,  well  proportioned  for  strength  and  activ 
ity.  He  always  rode  on  horseback,  even  if  accompanied  by 
his  family  in  a  carriage,  and  at  an  advanced  age  mounted 
his  horse  with  ease  without  other  aid  than  the  stirrup.  His 
features  were  bold  and  prominent ;  the  nose  was  well  formed ; 
the  eyes  light  blue,  keen,  and  piercing,  deeply  sunk  under 
projecting  brows.  His  lips  were  generally  closely  com 
pressed.  His  hair,  which  was  abundant,  became  white. 
His  whole  appearance  indicated  courage,  activity,  and 
confidence  in  himself. 

Edward  Everett  truthfully  said  of  STARK  that  his  char 
acter  was  one  of  original  strength  and  resource.  He 
would  have  risen  to  consequence  and  authority  however 
rude  and  uncivilized  the  community  into  which  he  might 
have  been  thrown;  and  had  he  been  trained  in  discipline 
and  enjoyed  the  opportunities  of  the  great  armies  of  Europe 
his  name  would  have  reached  posterity  as  a  military  chief 
tain  of  the  first  rank. 

General  STARK  was  a  man  of  strong  individuality,  and, 
although  blunt  and  firm,  had  a  kindness  of  heart  that  made 
him  popular  with  his  troops  and  gathered  around  him  a 
host  of  friends.  He  was  exceedingly  generous  and  hospi 
table,  and  sustained  a  reputation  for  strict  integrity.  He 
was  an  honest  and  useful  citizen  and  a  faithful  and  daunt 
less  soldier.  The  historian  Headley  declares  him  to  have 
been  independent  and  fearless,  yielding  to  neither  friend 
nor  foe. 

In  early  life  he  was  an  adventurous  woodsnun,  in  man 
hood  a  bold  ranger,  and  in  mature  years  an  able  and  skillful 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  31 

military  commander,  passing  through  his  long  and  remark 
able  career  without  a  blemish  on  his  name.  His  life  was 
marked  by  great  adventure  and  peril,  and,  while  expos 
ing  himself  in  battle  with  reckless  daring,  he  came  out  of 
the  war  without  a  scratch  or  a  wound.  He  exercised 
wonderful  power  over  his  troops.  They  loved  and  trusted 
him  always,  following  him  without  question  wherever  he 
led,  meeting  the  enemy  with  the  steadiness  and  determina 
tion  of  veterans.  Admiring  the  stern  and  resolute  char 
acter  of  Charles  XII,  STARK  made  the  history  of  the 
achievements  of  that  brave  ruler  the  guide  and  inspiration 
of  his  own  campaigns. 

Trusted  alike  by  Washington  and  the  people  of  his 
State,  he  never  failed  to  respond  to  the  call  of  duty  wher 
ever  it  led.  His  patriotism  was  as  boundless  as  his  nature 
was  intense.  He  loved  his  State  and  his  country,  but 
he  loved  liberty  better  than  all.  Amid  the  gloom  and 
despondency  of  the  darkest  days  of  that  heroic  struggle  his 
vision  discerned  a  victorious  ending.  Eighty-four  years  of 
age  when  the  second  war  with  Great  Britain  commenced, 
he  longed  for  the  energy  of  youth  that  he  might  engage  in 
the  strife,  and  chafed  under  the  burdens  that  kept  him 
from  again  serving  his  country. 

It  is  said  that  when  he  was  told  that  the  British  cannon 
which  he  captured  at  Bennington  were  among  the  trophies 
surrendered  by  Hull  at  Detroit  he  manifested  great  emotion 
and  mourned  for  "my  guns,"  as  he  was  in  the  habit  of 
calling  them.  Associated  as  they  were  with  one  of  the 
most  brilliant  events  of  his  life,  they  had  become  a  part  of 
his  existence,  and  it  seemed  to  him  in  his  old  age  like 


32  Address  of  Mr.  Gallinger  on  the 

robbery  to  take  away  these  monuments  of  his  well-earned 
military  reputation. 

Sir,  the  fame  of  JOHN  STARK  is  a  heritage  not  alone  to 
the  State  of  his  birth,  but  to  all  the  people  of  this  great 
nation,  and  it  is  safe  to  assume  that  among  the  great 
heroes  of  the  Revolution  and  the  incorruptible  patriots  of 
all  ages  his  name  will  forever  live,  to  be  recalled  by  the 
lovers  of  liberty  with  gratitude  and  pride. 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  33 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  PROCTOR. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT:  It  has  been  said  that  STARK  was  only 
a  partisan  leader — of  the  highest  type  to  be  sure.  He  was 
a  partisan  leader  only  when  the  times  and  circumstances 
required  partisan  warfare.  He  was  a  natural  leader  of  men 
wherever  he  might  be,  whether  in  the  hunter's  camp,  on 
the  Indian  trail,  in  the  frontier  settlement,  or  in  the  coun 
cils  of  organized  armies.  Hven  when  held  a  prisoner  by 
the  Indians  he  so  won  their  respect  by  his  strong  personal 
ity  that  he  was  adopted  by  their  tribe  as  a  young  chieftain. 
The  high  estimate  in  which  he  was  held  by  trained  soldiers 
is  an  evidence  that  they  considered  him  their  equal  at  least 
in  natural  ability.  Lord  Howe,  Amherst,  Abercrombie,  as 
well  as  the  colonial  officers,  were  his  friends  while  he  was 
yet  a  young  subaltern  in  the  Seven  Years  war  with  France. 
Lord  Howe  was  so  favorably  impressed  with  him  that  the 
night  before  that  officer  was  killed  he  invited  STARK  to 
dine  with  him  in  his  tent,  and  consulted  him  as  to  the  dis 
positions  for  the  attack  on  Ticonderoga  the  following  day. 

If  he  had  served  in  great  armies,  with  the  opportunities 
for  training  and  experience  which  such  service  affords,  he 
would  still  have  been  in  the  front  rank.  Whenever  his 
field  broadened  he  proved  himself  equal  to  its  requirements. 
He  was  more  than  a  partisan  when  he  held  the  left  of  the 
line  at  Bunker  Hill,  or  when  in  command  at  Bennington. 
All  in  all  he  is  an  excellent  representative  of  the  best  type 
of  our  country's  pioneer  leaders.  New  Hampshire,  there 
fore,  fitly  selects  him  as  one  of  the  two  from  that  State  to 
3 


34  Address  of  Mr.   Proctor  on  the 

be  honored  by  statues  in  this  Capitol.  Vermont  gladly 
joins  in  doing  him  honor,  for  his  most  distinguished  public 
services  are  a  part  of  her  early  history.  I  shall  confine 
my  brief  remarks,  therefore,  to  that  portion  of  his  career 
which  is  especially  identified  with  Vermont. 

The  scene  of  his  greatest  exploits  was  along  Lake  Cham- 
plain,  its  tributary,  Lake  George,  and  the  upper  waters  of 
the  Hudson.  It  is  a  historic  battle  ground.  From  our 
earliest  knowledge  of  it  and  from  still  earlier  tradition  it 
had  been  the  scene  of  many  bloody  conflicts  between  the 
tribes  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  those  of  the  Mohawk  val 
leys.  So  fierce  and  constant  had  been  this  warfare  that,  not 
withstanding  its  natural  advantages  for  Indian  habitation, 
no  tribe  had  attempted  to  occupy  it  permanently.  It  had 
been  debatable  ground  from  the  earliest  times,  and  so 
continued  after  the  French  settlement  of  Canada  and  the 
English  colonization  farther  south.  The  Iroquois  name 
for  Lake  Champlain  was  "The  Gate  of  the  Country,"  and 
so  unmistakably  has  nature  made  it  the  gateway  between 
the  original  French  and  English  colonies,  between  Canada 
and  the  States,  that  all  authorities  agree  and  recent  British 
military  writers  have  said  that  in  case  of  a  war  between  the 
two  countries  its  operations  must  follow  the  line  of  the 
Indian  trail  and  bark  canoe  of  two  hundred  years  ago. 
The  names  of  Champlain,  Frontenac,  Montcalm,  Baron 
Dieskau,  Lord  Howe,  Amherst,  Abercrombie,  Johnson, 
Putnam,  Williams,  Rogers,  Ethan  Allen,  Stark,  Gates, 
Arnold,  Burgoyne,  and  McDonough,  so  intimately  asso 
ciated  with  this  section,  establish  its  claim  to  historic  inter 
est.  Here  STARK  served  his  military  apprenticeship.  In 
1754  he  was  lieutenant  in  Colonel  Blanchard's  regiment, 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  35 

and  afterwards  in  Rogers' s  rangers.  At  Crown  Point, 
Ticonderoga,  Fort  William  Henry,  and  in  many  minor  but 
desperate  engagements,  he  did  valiant  service.  With  his 
rangers  he  built  a  road  through  the  wilderness  of  Vermont 
for  eighty  miles,  from  Charlestown  Number  Four  to  Crown 
Point,  to  enable  New  England  troops  to  cross  from  the 
Connecticut  River  to  Lake  Champlain. 

At  Bunker  Hill  he  commanded  a  regiment  of  minute- 
men,  and  in  the  New  Jersey  campaign  he  took  an  active 
part.  But  it  was  reserved  for  him  to  perform  the  most 
conspicuous  service  in  the  vicinity  of  Lake  Champlain, 
which  had  been  the  scene  of  his  earlier  military  exploits. 

It  is  upor  his  success  at  Bennington  more  than  all  else 
that  STARK' s  fame  must  rest.  Here  for  the  first  time  he 
was  in  command  of  an  army,  small  though  it  was,  hastily 
gathered  and  poorly  equipped,  but  composed  of  earnest 
and  determined  men,  fighting  for  home  and  country.  The 
importance  of  the  engagement  can  not  be  measured  by  the 
number  of  men  engaged.  Burgoyne's  march  from  Canada 
along  the  Champlain  route  had  been  so  far  one  of  uninter 
rupted  success.  England  was  confident  that  his  campaign 
would  close  the  rebellion.  Burke,  in  the  Annual  Register 
for  1777,  thus  describes  the  situation: 

Such  was  the  rapid  torrent  ot  success  which  swept  everything 
away  before  the  northern  army  in  its  onset.  It  is  not  to  be  won 
dered  at  if  both  officers  and  private  men  were  highly  elated  with  their 
good  fortune,  and  deemed  that  and  their  prowess  to  be  irresistible; 
if  they  regarded  their  enemy  with  the  greatest  contempt;  considered 
their  own  toils  to  be  nearly  at  an  end ;  Albany  to  be  already  in  their 
hands,  and  the  reduction  of  the  northern  provinces  to  be  rather  a  mat 
ter  of  some  time  than  an  arduous  task  full  ot  difficulty  and  danger. 

At  home  the  joy  and  exultation  was  extreme ;  not  only  at  court, 
but  with  all  those  who  hoped  or  wished  the  unqualified  subjugation 


36  Address  of  Mr.  Proctor  on  the 

and  unconditional  submission  of  the  colonies.  The  loss  of  repu 
tation  was  greater  to  the  Americans,  and  capable  of  more  fatal  con 
sequences,  than  even  that  of  ground,  of  posts,  of  artillery,  or  of 
men.  *  *  * 

It  was  not  difficult  to  diffuse  an  opinion  that  the  war  in  effect  was 
over,  and  that  any  further  resistance  could  serve  only  to  render  the 
terms  of  their  submission  the  worse.  Such  were  some  of  the  imme 
diate  effects  of  the  loss  of  the  grand  keys  of  North  America — 
Ticonderoga  and  the  lakes. 

Bennington  was  a  well-planned  and  well-fought  battle. 
But  there  were  other  reasons  which  contributed  to  our  suc 
cess.  The  men  knew  their  general ;  he  knew  his  men. 
Many  of  STARK' s  troops  at  Bennington  had  served  with 
him  in  the  previous  war.  Vermont  had  been  slower  of 
settlement  than  her  adjoining  New  England  States  on 
account  of  her  exposure  to  border  warfare  and  the  incursion 
of  French  and  Indians  from  Canada.  In  the  Seven  Years 
war  the  soldiers  of  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  and  New 
Hampshire  had  crossed  and  recrossed  u  The  Wilderness," 
as  the  State  was  then  called,  in  their  campaigns  on  Lake 
Champlain  and  Lake  George.  They  had  noticed  that  its 
lands  were  rich,  and  with  the  fall  of  Quebec  hastened  to 
take  them  up  under  the  New  Hampshire  grants,  so  that 
many  of  the  settlers  were  men  who  had  served  with  STARK 
in  the  French  war. 

The  men  of  New  Hampshire  and  Massachusetts  who 
joined  them  were  their  kinsmen  and  friends.  There  was 
entire  harmony  ;  no  discord  or  jealousy.  STARK  was  at 
once  comrade  and  commander — comrade  by  virtue  of  his 
long  service  in  their  border  warfare  as  a  scout,  subaltern, 
and  captain,  and  by  reason  of  his  simple  life  as  a  citizen 
and  his  plain,  unassuming  ways  ;  commander  by  his  inborn 


Acceptance  oj  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  37 

right  to  lead  and  his  long  and  successful  experience  as  a 
soldier. 

Warner,  the  colonel  of  one  of  the  Vermont  regiments, 
was  his  trusted  counselor  and  lieutenant,  and  his  regiment 
turned  the  tide  of  battle  at  a  critical  moment.  After 
STARR'S  forces,  with  desperate  valor,  had  driven  and  scat 
tered  the  British  troops  they  fell  into  disorder,  rejoicing  and 
gathering  plunder.  General  STARK,  in  his  report  to  the 
New  Hampshire  legislature,  says: 

Before  I  could  get  them  into  proper  order  I  received  intelligence 
that  there  was  a  large  reenforcement  within  two  miles  on  their 
march,  which  occasioned  us  to  renew  our  attack.  But,  luckily  for 
us,  Colonel  Warner's  regiment  came  up,  which  put  a  stop  to  their 
career. 

Creasy,  the  foremost  of  military  critics,  says  of  Bur- 
goyne's  plan  of  campaign  that — 

without  question  it  was  ably  formed,  and  had  the  success  of  the 
execution  been  equal  with  the  ingenuity  of  the  design  the  reconquest 
of  the  thirteen  United  States  must  in  all  human  probability  have 
failed,  and  the  independence  which  they  proclaimed  in  1776  would 
have  been  extinguished  before  it  had  existed  a  second  year.  No 
European  power  had  as  yet  come  forward  to  aid  America. 

And  he  adds,  in  reference  to  the  people  upon  whom 
resistance  to  this  invasion  devolved: 

The  five  northern  colonies  of  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  Rhode 
Island,  New  Hampshire,  and  Vermont,  usually  classed  together  as 
the  New  England  colonies,  were  the  strongholds  of  the  insurrection 
against  the  mother  country.  *  *  *  It  was  among  the  descend 
ants  of  the  stern  Puritans  that  the  spirit  of  Cromwell  and  Vane 
breathed  in  all  its  fervor;  it  was  from  the  New  Englanders  that  the 
first  armed  opposition  to  the  British  Crown  had  been  offered,  and  it 
was  by  them  that  the  most  stubborn  determination  to  fight  to  the 
last,  rather  than  waive  a  single  right  or  privilege,  had  been  displayed. 


38  Address  of  Mr.  I  roctor  on  the 

Burgoyne  had  instructed  Baum  to  cross  the  entire  State 
of  Vermont  from  west  to  east  and  return.  His  orders  were 
to  "mount 'your  dragoons,  send  me  one  thousand  three 
hundred  horses,  seize  Bennington,  cross  the  mountains 
to  Rockingham  and  Brattleboro,  try  the  affections  of  the 
country,  take  hostages,  meet  me  a  fortnight  hence  at 
Albany."  The  only  part  of  the  order  which  Baum  was 
able  to  execute  was  to  "try  the  affections  of  the  country." 
This  he  did  satisfactorily,  but,  instead  of  crossing  the  State 
twice,  he  was  met  and  crushed  at  its  very  border  and  never 
entered  the  confines  of  the  State  except  as  a  prisoner  with 
a  mortal  wound.  Four  days  after  the  battle  Burgoyne 
wrote  to  the  British  minister:  "The  Hampshire  Grants" 
(as  Vermont  was  then  called)  "in  particular,  a  country 
unpeopled  and  almost  unknown  in  the  last  war,  now 
abounds  in  the  most  active  and  rebellious  race  on  the  con 
tinent  and  hangs  like  a  gathering  storm  on  my  left."  He 
had  at  that  time  found  good  reason  to  speak  of  the  Hamp 
shire  Grants  ' '  in  particular. ' '  Baroness  von  Reidesel  wrote 
of  the  battle  from  the  British  camp:  "  This  unfortunate 
event  paralyzed  at  once  our  operations."  On  our  side 
Washington  writes  of  it  to  Putnam  as  "the  great  stroke 
struck  by  General  STARK  near  Bennington."  Bancroft, 
the  historian,  calls  the  victory  "one  of  the  most  brilliant 
and  eventful  of  the  war." 

Bennington  practically  assured  the  victory  at  Saratoga. 
There  was  no  danger  of  further  marauding  expeditions  from 
Burgoyne.  Bennington  had  cost  him  more  than  one-tenth 
of  his  entire  force.  The  homes  of  the  settlers  were  now 
safe,  and  they  hastened  to  join  the  main  army  under  Gates. 
The  effect  of  the  victory  upon  the  morale  of  the  armies  was 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  39 

still  greater  than  upon  their  numbers.  Burgoyne's  confi 
dence  in  the  final  result  was  destroyed.  Instead  of  being  the 
attacking  party,  he  was  thenceforth  confined  to  a  defense 
every  day  becoming  more  hopeless. 

Creasy  (writing  before  the  rebellion  and  Gettysburg),  in 
his  Fifteen  Decisive  Battles  of  the  World,  beginning  with 
Marathon  and  ending  with  Waterloo,  makes  Saratoga  one 
of  the  fifteen,  and  the  only  one  fought  on  the  Western 
Hemisphere.  "  It  was  one  of  those  few  battles  of  which  a 
contrary  event  would  essentially  have  varied  the  drama  of 
the  world  in  all  of  its  subsequent  scenes." 

* '  Nor  can  any  military  event, ' '  states  this  writer,  ' '  be  said 
to  have  exercised  more  important  influence  on  the  future 
fortunes  of  mankind  than  the  complete  defeat  of  Burgoyne's 
expedition  in  1777;  a  defeat  which  rescued  the  revolted  col 
onists  from  certain  subjection,  and  which,  by  inducing 
the  courts  of  France  and  Spain  to  attack  England  in  their 
behalf,  insured  the  independence  of  the  United  States  and 
the  formation  of  that  transatlantic  power  which  not  only 
America  but  Europe  and  Asia  now  see  and  feel." 

Success  at  Saratoga  might  have  been  possible,  though  not 
probable,  without  Bennington.  STARR'S  victory  made  it  a 
certainty. 

The  sculptor,  with  true  artistic  sense,  seeks  to  represent 
his  subject  at  the  supreme  moment  of  his  career,  and  I 
doubt  not  that  in  this  case  the  artist  would  say  that  a  fitting 
inscription  for  the  pedestal  of  this  statue  would  be  "  STARK 
at  Bennington." 


40  Address  of  Mr.  Diibois  on  the 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  DUBOIS. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT:  In  pursuance  of  a  custom  which  has 
been  honored  by  many  States,  we  are  met  to-day  in  the 
Chamber  of  the  United  States  Senate  to  accept  from  the 
State  of  New  Hampshire  statues  of  two  of  her  most  gifted 
and  illustrious  sons,  selected  from  among  the  long  and  hon 
orable  list  which  that  sturdy  Commonwealth  has  given  to 
the  American  Union.  This  custom  originated  through  an 
act  of  Congress  passed  July  2,  1864,  by  which  the  old  Hall 
of  the  House  of  Representatives  was  set  apart,  "  or  so  much 
thereof  as  may  be  necessary ,"  as  a  National  Statuary  Hall, 
and  the  President  authorized  to  invite  each  and  every  State 
to  furnish  statues  of  not  more  than  two  of  its  deceased 
citizens.  Rhode  Island  was  the  first  State  to  accept  the 
invitation,  and  presented  the  statue  of  Nathaniel  Greene 
in  January,  1870,  and  Roger  Williams  in  January,  1872. 
Illinois  was  the  last  State  to  respond  prior  to  these  cere 
monies,  presenting  the  statue  of  Gen.  James  Shields  on 
December  6,  1893.  Including  New  Hampshire,  twelve 
States  have  placed  statues  of  their  illustrious  citizens  in 
Statuary  Hall,  namely:  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New 
York,  Vermont,  Massachusetts,  Pennsylvania,  Maine,  Ohio, 
New  Jersey,  Michigan,  Illinois,  and  New  Hampshire. 

Occasions  of  this  kind  are  not  only  pleasant  in  them 
selves,  but  are  profitable  to  the  country.  While  the  cere 
monies  of  this  day  will  be  plain  and  unostentatious,  and 
will  consume  but  a  few  hours,  and  while  those  of  us  who 
participate  in  them  will  soon  pass  away,  the  record  will  be 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  41 

kept.  The  splendid  deeds  of  these  grand  characters  will 
again  be  recalled  as  an  inspiration  to  the  young  men  of 
now  as  well  as  those  who  are  to  shoulder  the  burdens  and 
responsibilities  of  our  Republic  in  the  future.  The  statues 
will  remain  as  a  perpetual  reminder  to  the  hundreds  and 
thousands  of  visitors  to  the  Capitol  that  our  nation  is  proud 
to  keep  fresh  the  great  and  heroic  achievements  of  the  sons 
of  her  respective  States. 

It  is  well  to  turn  aside  thus  for  a  few  hours  from  the 
perpetual  contests  and  strifes  in  which  we  are  of  necessity 
engaged,  in  order  to  unite  as  Americans  in  extolling  the 
deeds  of  those  who  aided  so  greatly  to  make  our  Republic 
possible  and  who  contributed  so  much  to  place  it  upon  a 
substantial  foundation. 

The  Senators  who  honor  New  Hampshire  in  this  body 
represent  one  of  the  oldest  States  in  the  Union.  Their 
courtesy  in  asking  me  to  say  a  few  words  concerning  Gen. 
JOHN  STARK  is  due,  quite  likely,  to  the  fact  that  Idaho  is 
next  to  the  youngest  State.  What  New  Hampshire  was  in 
the  days  of  this  illustrious  patriot  Idaho  is  to-day  in  many 
respects.  New  Hampshire  was  then  the  mountainous  fron 
tier,  where  hardships  were  to  be  endured  and  sturdy  char 
acters  were  to  be  found.  JOHN  STARK  little  dreamed,  when 
doing  such  valiant  and  self-sacrificing  service  in  preparation 
for  a  Union  of  thirteen  States,  that  but  little  more  than  a 
century  afterwards  a  representative  of  the  forty-third  State 
of  that  same  Union  would  stand  side  by  side  with  the  rep 
resentatives  of  his  own  State  to  do  honor  to  his  memory. 

No  doubt  the  Senators  from  NewT  Hampshire  had  this 
thought  in  mind  when  they  conferred  upon  one  of  the  new 
est  States  the  honor  of  participating  in  this  tribute  to  one 


42  Address  of  Mr.  Dubois  on  the 

of  her  most  distinguished  pioneers.  It  would  have  been  a 
pleasing  recompense  for  his  hardships  and  trials  could  he 
have  known  that  such  a  Republic  of  States,  held  together 
by  such  strong  ties  as  bind  us,  would  have  been  builded 
upon  the  foundation  he  assisted  so  materially  in  laying.  I 
wish  he  could  have  foreseen  it.  He  builded  better  than  he 
knew.  Could  he  have  contemplated  the  future  greatness 
and  power  of  the  nation  then  forming,  however,  it  could 
not  have  changed  him.  He  did  his  full  duty  at  all  times, 
under  all  circumstances,  and  acknowledged  no  leader  supe 
rior  to  his  own  conscience. 

As  other  Senators  have  spoken  so  ably  and  fully  already 
of  the  character  of  General  STARK,  I  will  present  but  a  few 
facts  of  his  life  as  they  come  down  to  us  through  history, 
and  thus  close. 

Archibald,  the  father  of  JOHN  STARK,  was  born  in  Scot 
land  and  was  highly  educated.  He  came  to  this  country 
and  settled  in  Londonderry,  N.  H.,  in  1720.  JOHN  STARK 
was  born  in  the  same  town  in  1728.  His  boyhood  days 
were  rilled  with  thrilling  adventures  among  wild  Indians, 
were  occupied  by  trapping,  and  accompanied  by  the  hard 
ships  which  always  have  and  always  will  go  to  make  up 
life  on  the  frontier. 

In  the  early  wars  between  the  English  and  the  French, 
growing  out  of  rival  claims  over  disputed  territory  in  the 
Ohio  and  Mississippi  valleys,  JOHN  STARK,  then  a  young 
man  of  about  thirty  years,  took  an  active  and  brave  part  on 
the  side  of  the  English.  At  the  close  of  the  war,  in  1760, 
at  which  time  he  was  a  captain,  he  retired  to  the  pursuits  of 
private  life,  having  married  Elizabeth  Page  in  1758,  when 
home  on  a  furlough.  When  the  war  of  the  American 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  43 

Revolution  broke  out  with-the  battle  of  Lexington,  in  April, 
1775,  Captain  STARK  was  the  first  to  rush  to  the  defense  of 
the  colonies,  and  quickly  raised  one  thousand  two  hundred 
men,  he  being  made  colonel  of  a  regiment.  He  fought 
through  the  entire  war  of  the  Revolution,  down  to  the  sur 
render  of  Cornwallis,  save  when  he  retired  from  active  serv 
ice  during  short  intervals,  on  account  of  treatment  which 
he  conceived  to  be  unjust  and  a  reflection  upon  himself  by 
the  civil  branches  of  the  Government.  He  was  particu 
larly  conspicuous  at  the  battles  of  Bunker  Hill,  Trenton, 
and  Bennington.  In  1786  Congress  conferred  upon  him 
the  rank  of  major-general. 

STARK,  during  his  entire  career,  was  wonderfully  popu 
lar  with  the  people  of  his  State  and  with  his  soldiers,  but 
was  often  in  quarrels  with  the  civil  authorities,  who  had 
more  or  less  control  and  direction  of  the  military.  These 
civilians  did  not  seem  to  fully  understand  the  character  of 
STARK.  He  paid  them  but  little  respect,  but  always  forced 
recognition  by  his  unswerving  patriotism,  matchless  per 
sonal  bravery,  and  wonderful  sagacity  in  times  of  peril. 

During  the  years  after  the  close  of  his  military  life  he 
devoted  himself  to  business  with  success,  amassing  a  mod 
erate  fortune.  Washington,  Jefferson,  Madison,  and  the 
other  brilliant  and  able  men  of  our  early  history  demon 
strated  their  appreciation  of  his  services  to  his  country  and 
their  admiration  for  his  character  by  personal  and  touching 
letters  to  him.  He  was  in  every  respect  a  son  of  New 
Hampshire,  and  will  probably  always  occupy  the  con 
spicuous  position  in  the  State  of  being  a  typical  repre 
sentative  whose  qualities  they  delight  to  honor.  He  lived 
to  the  ripe  age  of  ninety-four,  dying  at  Manchester,  N.  H., 
in  1822. 


44  Address  of  Mr.    Chandler  on  the 


ADDRESS  OF  MR,  CHANDLER. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT:  JOHN  STARK  was  New  Hampshire's 
great  fighter  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution.  The  roll  of 
honor  of  our  State  in  that  conflict  is  a  full  one,  and  is  most 
creditable  to  the  New  Hampshire  troops,  who,  from  a 
population  of  eighty-three  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
seventy-eight,  numbered  eighteen  thousand  two  hundred 
and  eighty-nine  out  of  a  total  of  three  hundred  and  ninety- 
five  thousand  and  sixty-four  raised  by  the  thirteen  colonies 
from  the  year  1775  to  the  year  1783,  inclusive,  for  the  Con 
tinental  army. 

Maj.  Andrew  McClary  was  shot  dead  at  Bunker  Hill; 
Baldwin  was  killed  there;  Adams,  Colbourne,  Thomas,  and 
Bell  died  at  Stillw^ater;  Conner  and  lieutenant  McClary  at 
Saratoga;  Sherburne  at  Germantown;  Cloyes  and  McAulay 
in  the  Seneca  region,  and  Alexander  Scammel  gave  his  life 
at  York  town.  Our  high  officers  besides  STARK  were  John 
Sullivan,  Henry  Dearborn,  Enoch  Poor,  James  Reed, 
George  Reid,  William  Whipple,  Joseph  Cilley,  and  Nathan 
Hale,  and  they  conferred  distinction  upon  the  Common 
wealth. 

It  was,  however,  not  difficult  to  select  from  all  our  Rev 
olutionary  soldiers  JOHN  STARK  as  the  most  appropriate 
figure  for  one  of  our  two  places  in  the  National  Gallery. 

More  than  any  other  commander  he  rejoiced  in  the  fierce 
ness  of  actual  conflict  on  the  battlefield.  The  sound  of 
cannon  and  the  smell  of  powder  stirred  his  powers  to  their 
utmost  without  impairing  his  coolness  and  self-control.  As 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  45 

a  leader  of  men  in  battle  he  has  had  few  equals  and  almost 
no  superiors  in  history. 

The  strong  character  and  patriotic  services  of  STARK 
have  been  fully  described  by  the  speakers  who  have  pre 
ceded  me.  It  is  also  due  to  historical  accuracy  always 
to  remember  that  his  actual  merits  as  a  soldier  have  been 
naturally  enhanced  in  public  estimation  by  the  great  impor 
tance  to  the  cause  of  the  colonies  of  the  three  conflicts 
which  have  made  him  famous. 

The  fight  at  Bunker  Hill,  on  June  17,  1775,  was  the  first 
pitched  battle  of  the  Revolutionary  struggle:  It  taught 
the  British  that  the  Americans  would  meet  and  withstand 
the  veteran  troops  of  Europe  and  would  boldly  sacrifice 
their  lives  for  independence.  The  slaughter  of  General' 
Howe's  officers  and  soldiers  carried  sad  news  to  many  Eng 
lish  homes  and  brought  the  King  and  his  ministers  face 
to  face  with  the  obstacles  in  the  way  of  conquering  the 
colonies.  The  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  was  the  most  roman 
tic  and  heroic  conflict  of  the  whole  war;  and  its  history 
can  not  be  written  without  displaying  JOHN  STARK  at  the 
head  of  the  New  Hampshire  forces,  numbering  more  than 
all  the  other  troops  engaged,  and  covering  the  retreat  of 
the  gallant  men,  who  in  the  main  redoubt  displayed  a  per 
sistent  bravery  which  has  immortalized  their  conflict. 

It  was  next  the  good  fortune  of  STARK  to  lead  Washing 
ton's  advance  at  Trenton  on  December  25,  1776.  The 
continental  cause  was  then  in  a  desperate  condition,  after 
the  disastrous  battle  of  Long  Island,  the  retreat  from 
Brooklyn  to  New  York,  the  evacuation  of  that  city,  the 
capture  of  Fort  Washington,  and  the  retreat  of  all  the  colo 
nial  forces  into  New  Jersey.  The  invasion  of  Canada  by 


46  Address  of  Mr.  Chandler  on  the 

Montgomery  and  Arnold  had  proved  disastrous;  the  British 
had  advanced  as  ar  as  Crown  Point,  while  the  Americans 
had  only  a  precarious  hold  on  Ticonderoga.  New  England 
and  New  York  were  separated  from  Pennsylvania  and  the 
southern  colonies.  The  army  seemed  to  be  dissolving,  and 
Philadelphia  was  in  danger  of  capture. 

Washington's  plan  for  reviving  the  national  spirit  by  his 
midwinter  surprise  of  the  Hessians  at  Trenton  contemplated 
four  simultaneous  movements,  all  of  which  failed  but  his 
own.  General  Ewing,  with  his  troops,  was  to  cross  the  Del 
aware  one  mile  below  Trenton  and  march  up;  ice  prevented 
his  crossing.  General  Putnam  was  to  cross  still  farther 
down  the  river,  below  Burlington;  symptoms  of  an  insur 
rection  in  Philadelphia  stopped  him.  General  Cadwallader 
was  also  to  cross  near  Putnam's  forces;  he  sent  over  part 
of  his  command,  but  ice  hindered  the  remainder,  and  all 
returned. 

Washington  crossed  nine  miles  above  Trenton,  divided 
his  forces,  and  attacked  before  daylight  above  and  below  the 
town.  One  corps  was  led  by  General  Sullivan,  under  whom 
JOHN  STARK  was  in  the  van.  Washington  Irving  says: 
''Colonel  STARK  led  the  advance  guard,  and  did  it  in  gallant 
style."  The  victory  of  Trenton,  the  killing  of  Colonel 
Rahl,  the  capture  of  the  Hessian  troops,  and  the  subse 
quent  conflict  at  Princeton  redeemed  the  Jerseys,  drove 
Cornwallis  back  toward  New  York,  and  revived  the  droop 
ing  hopes  of  the  colonies.  It  was  one  of  the  decisive  bat 
tles  of  the  Revolution. 

Next  we  see  STARK  at  Bennington.  The  British  plan  of 
campaign  for  1777  was  to  divide  the  colonies  by  seizing  the 
line  of  the  Hudson  Paver.  Burgoyne  was  to  go  down  the 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  47 

lakes  from  Canada  to  Albany,  while  Sir  Henry  Clinton  was 
to  force  his  way  up  the  Hudson  to  join  the  northern  army. 
Burgoyne  moved  with  great  display  down  Lake  Champlain, 
and  on  July  5  captured  Ticonderoga.  The  Vermont  set 
tlers  became  alarmed  and  hundreds  gave  in  their  submis 
sion,  while  others  fled  across  the  mountains  to  the  men  of 
New  Hampshire.  That  State  responded,  and  her  militia 
flocked  into  Manchester,  Vt,  and  when  Burgoyne  made  the 
fatal  mistake  of  dividing  his  army  and  sending  Colonel 
Batim  to  the  east  to  forage  and  to  ravage,  JOHN  STARK 
met  him  with  the  New  Hampshire  troops,  and  on  August 
16,  1777,  fought  and  won  the  battle  of  Bennington.  This 
victory  changed  the  whole  aspect  of  affairs.  Thereafter  no 
British  advance  was  possible,  retreat  became  impracticable, 
and  after  the  battles  of  Bemis  Heights  and  Freeman's  Farm 
Burgoyne' s  pretentious  invasion  ended  with  the  surrender  of 
his  whole  army  to  General  Gates  at  Saratoga  on  October  17. 
General  Clinton  from  the  south  had  on  the  6th  of  October 
carried  by  assault  Forts  Montgomery  and  Clinton,  in  the 
Highlands,  and  was  within  a  few  hours'  sail  of  Albany 
when  he  heard  of  Burgoyne' s  surrender,  and  retreated  down 
the  river. 

The  capture  of  the  British  army  at  Saratoga  was  the 
most  decisive  event  of  the  war,  because  it  led  France  to 
espouse  and  make  successful  the  cause  of  American  inde 
pendence.  In  1759  France  had  surrendered  Canada  to  Great 
Britain.  England  became  strong;  France,  weak  and  cau 
tious.  But  the  victory  of  Saratoga  removed  all  hesitation, 
and  France  acknowledged  our  independence  and  prepared 
to  support  it  by  fleets  and  armies.  England  gave  up  her 
colonies  for  lost,  and  became  willing  to  grant  everything 


48  Address  of  Mr.    Chandler. 

they    had    asked    for,    except   independence.     Prussia  and 
Austria  refused  to  furnish  any  more  mercenary  s*oldiers. 

The  accurate  and  accomplished  historian,  Samuel  Adams 
Drake,  in  his  sketch  of  u  Burgoyne's  Invasion  of  1777," 
describes  the  effect  in  America: 

At  home  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne  thrilled  the  whole  land,  for 
all  felt  it  to  be  the  harbinger  of  final  triumph.  The  people  went  wild 
with  joy.  Salvos  of  artillery,  toasts,  bonfires,  illuminations  every 
where  testified  to  the  general  exultation.  The  name  of  France  was 
hailed  with  acclamations.  At  once  a  sense  of  national  dignity  and 
solidity  took  the  place  of  uncertainty  and  isolation.  Now  and 
henceforth  the  flag  of  the  United  States  was  known  and  respected 
abroad  as  at  home,  on  the  sea  as  on  the  land. 

Fortunate,  thrice  fortunate,  was  the  immortal  STARK  that 
he  was  able  to  exercise  his  unsurpassed  faculty  of  command 
and  to  exhibit  his  extreme  personal  valor  by  leading  the 
New  Hampshire  troops  at  Bunker  Hill,  by  heading  Wash 
ington's  personal  advance  at  Trenton,  and  by  planning 
and  winning,  as  the  chief  commander,  the  decisive  victory 
of  Bennington. 

Fortunate  also  is  New  Hampshire  that  she  is  able  to  place 
in  the  National  Gallery  the  statue  of  a  military  hero  whose 
services  in  arms  contributed  so  much  to  American  inde 
pendence  and  whose  memory  is  so  deserving  of  perpetua 
tion  in  all  patriotic  hearts. 

Mr.  GALLINGER.  I  ask  for  the  adoption  of  the  resolu 
tions. 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER  (Mr.  PASCO  in  the  chair).  The 
question  is  on  the  adoption  of  the  concurrent  resolutions 
submitted  by  the  Senator  from  California  [Mr.  PERKINS]. 

The  resolutions  were  unanimously  agreed  to. 


ACCEPTANCE  OF  THE  STATUE  OF  JOHN  STARK. 


PROCEEDINGS  IN  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES. 


DECEMBER  12,  1894. 

Mr.  BAKER,  of  New  Hampshire.  Mr.  Speaker,  I  ask 
unanimous  consent  for  the  present  consideration  of  the 
resolution  which  I  send  to  the  desk. 

The  resolution  was  read,  as  follows: 

Resolved,  That  the  exercises  appropriate  to  the  reception  and 
acceptance  from  the  State  of  New  Hampshire  of  the  statues  of 
JOHN  STARK  and  DANIEL  WEBSTER,  to  be  erected  in  the  old  Hall 
of  the  House  of  Representatives,  be  made  the  special  order  for 
Thursday,  the  2oth  day  of  December,  at  two  o'clock  p.  m. 

The  resolution  was  agreed  to. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  BAKER,  of  New  Hampshire,  a  motion 
to  reconsider  the  vote  by  which  the  resolution  was  adopted 
was  laid  on  the  table. 

DECEMBER  18,  1894. 

The  SPEAKER  laid  before  the  House  the  following;  letter: 

STATE  OF  NEW  HAMPSHIRE,  EXECUTIVE   DEPARTMENT, 

Concord.  December  5,  1894. 

DEAR  SIR:    In  accordance  with    an  act  passed    at    the    biennial 
session  of  1893,  and  in  acceptance  of  an   invitation  contained    in 
section  eighteen  hundred  and  fourteen  of  the   Revised  Statutes  of 
4  s— \v  40 


50  Proceedings  in  Hoiise  of  Representatives. 

the  United  States,  the  State  of  New  Hampshire  has  placed  in  the 
National  Statuary  Hall  in  the  Capitol  at  Washington  t\Tro  statues  in 
marble — the  one  of  JOHN  STARK,  the  other  of  DANIEL  WEBSTER. 
These  statues  were  modeled  by  Carl  Conrads  after  statues  in 
bronze  now  in  the  State  House  Park  at  Concord.  The  original  ol 
the  WEBSTER  statue  is  by  Ball,  and  was  presented  to  the  State 
by  Benjamin  Pierce  Cheney.  The  original  statue  of  STARK  is  by 
Conrads,  and  was  erected  by  the  State. 

In  behalf  of  the  State  of  New   Hampshire  I  have  the  honor  of 
presenting  these  statues  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States. 
Very  respectfully, 

JOHN   B.  SMITH,  Governor. 
Hon.  CHARLES  F.  CRISP, 

Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

The  SPEAKER.  This  communication  will  lie  upon  the 
table  until  the  House  determines  to  act  upon  it. 

DECEMBER  19,  1894. 

Mr.  BAKER,  of  New  Hampshire,  rose. 

The  SPEAKER.  The  gentleman  from  New  Hampshire 
[Mr.  BAKER],  as  the  Chair  understands,  desires  to  submit 
a  resolution  relating  to  the  ceremonies  fixed  for  to-morrow. 

Mr.  BAKER,  of  New  Hampshire.  I  ask  the  adoption  of 
the  resolution  which  I  send  to  the  desk. 

The  Clerk  read  as  follows: 

Resolved,  That  his  excellency  the  governor  of  New  Hampshire, 
his  escort,  and  the  executive  council  be  admitted  to  the  floor  of  the 
House  during  the  exercises  on  the  2oth  instant  incident  to  the  ac 
ceptance  from  that  State  of  the  statues  of  JOHN  STARK  and  DANIEL 
WEBSTER. 

The  SPEAKER.  The  gentleman  from  New  Hampshire 
asks  unanimous  consent  for  the  consideration  of  this  reso 
lution.  The  rules  provide  that  the  Chair  shall  not  submit 
a  proposition  for  unanimous  consent  for  the  admission  to 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  51 

the  floor  of  any  person  not  designated  in  the  rule  on  that 
subject.  The  Chair  understands  that  provision,  however, 
to  apply  to  occasions  when  the  House  is  engaged  in  the 
transaction  of  ordinary  business;  and  it  has  been  custom 
ary,  as  the  Chair  understands,  when  business  of  the  charac 
ter  named  in  this  resolution  has  been  before  the  House,  to 
admit  to  the  floor  the  governor  of  the  State  concerned,  his 
staff,  and  the  accompanying  committee.  The  Chair,  there 
fore,  submits  the  question  whether  there  is  objection  to  the 
consideration  of  this  resolution. 

There  was  no  objection. 

The  House  proceeded  to  the  consideration  of  the  resolu 
tion,  and  it  was  adopted. 

DECEMBER  20,  1894. 

The  SPEAKER.   The  Clerk  will  report  the  special  order. 
The  Clerk  read  as  follows: 

Resolved,  That  the  exercises  appropriate  to  the  reception  and 
acceptance  from  the  State  of  New  Hampshire  of  the  statues  of 
JOHN  STARK  and  DANIEL  WEBSTER,  to  be  erected  in  the  old  Hall 
of  the  House  of  Representatives,  be  made  the  special  order  for 
Thursday,  the  20th  day  of  December,  at  two  o'clock  p.  m. 

Mr.  BAKER,  of  New  Hampshire.  Air.  Speaker,  I  ask 
that  the  letter  of  his  excellency  the  governor  of  New 
Hampshire,  addressed  to  the  honorable  Speaker  of  this 
House,  which  has  been  read  and  laid  upon  the  table,  be 
taken  from  the  table  and  again  reported. 

The  letter  was  read,  as  follows: 

STATE  OF  NEW  HAMPSHIRE,  EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT, 

Concord,  December  5,  1894. 

DEAR  SIR:  In  accordance  with  an  act  passed  at  the  biennial 
session  of  1893,  and  in  acceptance  of  an  invitation  contained  in  sec 
tion  eighteen  hundred  and  fourteen  of  the  Revised  Statutes  of  the 


52  Proceedings  in  House  of  Representatives. 

United  States,  the  State  ot  New  Hampshire  has  placed  in  the 
National  Statuary  Hall  in  the  Capitol  at  Washington  two  statues  in 
marble — the  one  of  JOHN  STARK,  the  other  ot  DANIEL  WEBSTER. 
These  statues  were  modeled  by  Carl  Conrads  after  statues  in  bronze 
now  in  the  State  House  Park  at  Concord.  The  original  of  the 
WEBSTER  statue  is  by  Ball,  and  was  presented  to  the  State  by 
Benjamin  Pierce  Cheney.  The  original  statue  of  STARK  is  by 
Conrads,  and  was  erected  by  the  State. 

In  behalf  of  the  State  of  New  Hampshire  I  have  the  honor  of 
presenting  these  statues  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States. 
Very  respectfully, 

JOHN  B.  SMITH,  Governor. 
Hon.  CHARLES  F.  CRISP, 

Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

Mr.  BAKER.   I  submit  the  following  resolution. 
The  Clerk  read  as  follows: 

Resolved  by  the  House  of  Representatives  (the  Senate  concurring], 
That  the  thanks  ot  Congress  be  given  to  the  people»of  New  Hamp 
shire  for  the  statue  of  JOHN  STARK,  illustrious  for  military  services, 
being  especially  distinguished  at  Bunker  Hill  and  as  the  victorious 
commander  at  Bennington. 

Resolved,  That  the  statue  be  accepted  and  placed  in  the  National 
Statuary  Hall,  and  that  a  copy  of  this  resolution,  signed  by  the 
presiding  officers  of  the  House  of  Representatives  and  the  Senate, 
be  forwarded  to  his  excellency  the  governor  of  the  State  of  New 
Hampshire. 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  BAKER. 

Mr.  SPEAKER:  The  biography  of  men  is  often  as  inter 
esting  and  instructive  as  the  history  of  nations.  We  can 
more  easily  understand  the  motives  and  purposes  of  indi 
viduals  than  comprehend  the  necessities  and  intentions  of 
governments.  The  right  word  spoken  or  a  brave  blow 
struck  for  freedom,  country,  family,  or  friends,  when  the 
exigency  is  great,  comes  closer  to  the  hearts  of  the  people 
than  the  edicts  of  kings  or  the  decrees  of  synods  and  coun 
cils.  The  one  is  always  picturesque  and  patriotic,  the 
other  sometimes  hostile  in  purpose  and  hated  in  practice. 
Everywhere  the  people  have  been  quick  to  recognize  those 
in  public  or  private  life  who  represent  a  great  principle 
or  do  brave  deeds  that  freer  government  may  bless  the 
nations  and  ennoble  humanity. 

So  love  of  country  and  willingness  to  die  that  liberty 
may  live  are  honored  among  men.  The  truly  good,  the 
unselfishly  patriotic,  and  those  who  by  great  talents  have 
inspired  the  people,  and  taught  them  how  to  defend  and 
preserve  their  liberties,  have  been  in  all  ages  commemo 
rated  by  statues  and  monuments.  Advancing  civilization 
encourages  these  tokens  of  appreciation,  veneration,  and 
love. 

While  our  nation  was  torn  by  civil  war  and  faint  hearts 
feared  that  it  would  not  survive  the  shock  of  battle,  Con 
gress,  never  doubting  the  success  of  the  national  arms  and 
the  final  restoration  of  the  Union,  provided  by  statute  for 
the  erection  in  the  Capitol  of  ' '  statues  in  marble  or  bronze 
of  deceased  persons  illustrious  for  their  historic  renown  or 


54  Address  of  Mr.  Baker  on  the 

for  distinguished  civic  or  military  services,"  and  invited 
the  several  States  to  honor  two  of  their  most  renowned 
citizens  by  such  statues.  To-day  New  Hampshire  avails 
herself  of  the  national  invitation,  and  erects  in  Statuary 
Hall  the  statues  of  her  renowned  sons,  Gen.  JOHN  STARK, 
the  intrepid,  patriotic  citizen  soldier,  and  DANIEL  WEB 
STER,  the  orator,  statesman,  and  greatest  constitutional 
lawyer  of  our  country. 

Of  the  early  settlers  of  New  Hampshire  many  were  of 
Scotch-Irish  descent.  They  were  an  honest,  hardy,  law- 
respecting,  patriotic,  and  industrious  people.  No  country 
could  have  a  better  class  of  citizens.  Among  them  was 
Archibald  Stark,  who,  born  in  Glasgow,  Scotland,  and 
educated  in  the  university  of  that  city,  removed  to  Lon 
donderry,  Ireland,  \vhere  he  married  Kleanor  Nichols,  the 
daughter  of  a  resident  Scotchman,  and  emigrated  to  Amer 
ica  in  1720. 

The  voyage  was  long,  tedious,  and  disastrous  to  his  high 
hope  of  immediate  prosperity.  All  his  children  died  at  sea, 
and  when,  late  in  autumn,  he  arrived,  at  Boston,  the  author 
ities  refused  to  permit  any  one  to  land  from  the  vessel 
because  many  of  the  passengers  were  ill  with  smallpox. 
Being  driven  from  that  port,  they  landed  on  the  wild  shores 
of  Maine,  where  they  passed  the  winter  in  great  discomfort. 
The  next  summer  Mr.  Stark  and  wife  found  their  way  to 
friends  in  Londonderry,  N.  H. ,  where  they  made  a  home 
and  began  life  anew.  Here  their  son  JOHN  STARK  was 
born  August  28,  1728.  When  he  was  eight  years  old  his 
father's  house  was  burned,  and  the  family  removed  to  a 
location  on  the  Merrimack  River  just  above  Amoskeag  Falls, 
in  the  present  city  of  Manchester.  Here  the  Stark  family 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  55 

made  its  permanent  home  and  here  Gen.  JOHN  STARK  lived 
and  died.  Here  his  father  educated  his  children,  and  they 
grew  up  working  on  the  farm,  hunting  and  fishing,  and 
becoming  inured  to  the  hardships  of  the  forests  and  warfare 
with  the  Indians. 

JOHN  STARK  remained  at  home  until  twenty-four  years 
old,  and  then,  with  three  friends,  went  on  a  hunting  expe 
dition  to  Baker's  River,  in  Rumney.  In  about  thirty  days 
they  had  secured  furs  valued  at  more  than  two  thousand 
five  hundred  dollars.  Having  observed  signs  of.  hostile 
Indians,  they  decided  to  return  home.  The  next  day  young 
STARK,  while  collecting  the  traps,  fell  into  an  ambuscade 
and  was  captured.  Endeavoring  to  save  his  companions, 
he  sent  the  Indians  in  the  contrary  direction  from  the 
camp;  but  his  friends,  becoming  alarmed  at  his  unusual 
absence,  fired  several  guns  to  call  him  back,  and  thus 
revealed  their  position  to  the  enemy.  From  his  con 
tinued  absence  they  suspected  what  had  befallen  him  and 
attempted  to  escape,  two  in  a  boat  and  one  on  shore. 
The  Indians  soon  captured  the  one  on  land  and  then  com 
manded  STARK  to  call  his  friends  in  the  boat  and  tell  them 
to  come  ashore.  On  the  contrary,  he  informed  them  what 
had  happened,  and  advised  them  to  pull  for  the  opposite 
shore,  which  they  did.  Some  of  the  Indians  then  attempted 
to  shoot  them,  but  STARK  struck  up  their  guns.  Others 
fired  and  killed  one  of  them;  the  other,  STARK' s  brother 
William,  escaped  and  reached  home  safely.  Having  cruelly 
whipped  STARK  and  captured  his  furs,  they  returned  to 
their  wigwams  on  the  St.  Francis  River,  in  Canada,  where 
he  was  compelled  to  run  the  gantlet.  After  receiving  sev 
eral  blows,  STARK  struck  right  and  left,  knocking  some 


56  Address  of  Mr.  Baker  on  the 

of  the  young  Indians  down,  the  others  preferring  to  make 
way  for  him  than  to  meet  his  sturdy  resistance.  They 
ordered  him  to  hoe  corn,  but  he  carefully  destroyed  the 
corn  and  cultivated  the  weeds,  hoping  thus  to  avoid  further 
labor,  and  as  he  was  not  successful  in  this  he  threw  his  hoe 
into  the  river,  boldly  asserting  that  "it  is  the  business  of 
squaws,  not  warriors,  to  hoe  corn."  These  brave  and 
unusual  acts  pleased  the  old  men  of  the  tribe,  and  they 
named  him  "the  young  chief"  and  wished  to  adopt  him. 
In  a  few  months  he  was  ransomed  by  the  payment  of  a 
pony  valued  at  one  hundred  and  three  dollars.  This  expe 
rience  with  the  Indians,  the  knowledge  he  acquired  of  their 
customs,  skill,  and  language,  was  of  great  aid  to  him  in  his 
military  career.  The  next  season  he  went  on  a  hunting 
excursion  upon  the  banks  of  the  Androscoggin,  and  secured 
enough  furs  to  repay  the  money  advanced  for  his  ransom. 

In  1754  STARK  received  his  first  military  commission, 
being  appointed  an  ensign  in  an  expedition  to  the  upper 
Coos  to  ascertain  the  truth  of  a  report  that  the  French  had 
occupied  that  territory  and  were  erecting  a  fort,  and,  if  the 
rumor  should  prove  true,  to  demand  their  authority  for  such 
hostile  demonstrations.  They  found  that  country  unoccu 
pied,  and  promptly  returned  home.  The  same  year  the 
Seven  Years  war  began,  and  the  New  Hampshire  colonists 
heartily  espoused  the  cause  of  the  mother  country. 

In  1755  an  extensive  campaign  was  planned,  and  the  ex 
ecution  of  that  part  of  it  which  was  intended  to  secure  the 
reduction  of  Crown  Point  and  the  occupation  of  the  terri 
tory  along  Lakes  George  and  Champlain  was  intrusted  to 
the  troops  raised  in  New  England.  Among  these  was  a  band 
of  rugged  hunters,  familiar  with  the  forests,  the  methods 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  57 

of  Indian  warfare,  and  accustomed  to  all  the  dangers  and 
hardships  of  frontier  life,  each  being  an  expert  sharp 
shooter,  who  could  endure  the  fatigue  of  long  marches,  the 
pangs  of  hunger,  and  the  cold  of  winter,  camping  without 
shelter,  and  frequently  without  fire,  wherever  night  or  the 
necessities  of  the  occasion  required.  These  New  Hampshire 
troops  were  known  as  "Rodgers  rangers,"  and  STARK  was 
their  second  lieutenant.  His  whole  life  had  been  a  school 
for  this  warfare,  better  than  any  which  the  nations  had 
established.  They  did  good  service,  but  were  discharged 
when  preparations  were  made  for  winter  encampment. 
They  had  demonstrated  their  ability  and  the  necessity  for 
their  peculiar  methods  of  warfare  ;  and  when  the  campaign 
of  the  next  year  opened  the  rangers  were  organized  as  a 
permanent  corps.  STARK  was  again  a  lieutenant,  but  was 
soon  promoted  to  a  captaincy  in  recognition  of  his  brilliant 
service. 

Captain  STARK,  returning  home  on  a  furlough,  was  mar 
ried,  August  20,  1758,  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Page,  a  daughter 
of  one  of  the  original  proprietors  of  the  township  of  Dun- 
barton,  N.  H. 

By  the  spring  of  1759  he  had  enlisted  a  new  company  of 
rangers,  and  was  early  at  the  seat  of  war.  He  remained  in 
active  service  until  the  close  of  the  campaigns  of  1760, 
when  it  was  conceded  that  the  war  was  virtually  ended,  and 
then  resigned  his  commission  and  returned  home  with  well- 
earned  military  honors  and  the  good  will  of  his  com 
mander,  who  assured  him  that  he  could  resume  his  rank  in 
the  army  whenever  he  wished.  This  he  probably  would 
have  done  had  not  the  conquest  of  Canada  and  the  restora 
tion  of  peace  enabled  him  to  superintend  his  farm  and  mills 


58  Address  of  Mr.  Baker  on  the 

and  for  a  time  attend  to  his  private  affairs,  which  had  been 
so  long  neglected. 

The  war  so  happily  ended  had  been  a  remarkable  school 
for  the  colonists.  They  had  received  seven  years  of  instruc 
tion  in  tactics  and  military  science;  had  measured  them 
selves  by  daily  contact  with  the  best  troops  of  England, 
and  had  helped  defeat  the  French.  The  result  of  their 
comparison  was  more  favorable  to  themselves  than  they 
had  anticipated,  and  when  it  became  necessary  to  defend 
their  liberties  by  arms  they  were  more  confident  of  the 
result  than  they  otherwise  could  have  been. 

Captain  STARK,  ever  held  in  high  honor  and  esteem  by 
his  neighbors  and  the  people  of  his  State,  was  appointed 
one  of  the  "committee  of  safety"  in  1774.  He  was  always 
their  friend,  and  uniformly  espoused  their  cause.  He  never 
yielded  any  of  their  rights,  yet  counseled  moderation  and 
regretted  the  impending  necessity  for  armed  resistance. 

The  news  of  the  battle  of  Lexington  found  him  at  work 
in  his  sawmill.  He  understood  that  it  was  the  beginning 
of  the  hazardous  struggle  for  liberty  he  had  so  long  feared, 
but  for  which  he  had  quietly  prepared  his  people.  He  at 
once  stopped  his  mill,  returned  home,  mounted  his  horse, 
and  rode  toward  the  scene  of  hostilities.  Everywhere  he 
aroused  the  people  and  directed  them  to  follow  him  and  en 
camp  at  Medford,  Mass.  They  were  not  slow  to  obey  their 
old  captain  and  friend,  for  their  hearts  loved  liberty  and 
they  were  as  patriotic  as  their  leader.  Several  hundred  of 
them  reported  for  duty  with  such  arms  and  equipments  as 
they  possessed.  They  organized  by  unanimously  electing 
STARK  colonel  and  by  selecting  a  full  line  of  officers  for  the 
regiment,  which  consisted  of  thirteen  companies.  STARK'S 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  59 

prompt  and  patriotic  action  and  the  ready  response  of  the 
New  Hampshire  citizen  soldiery  made  the  battle  of  Bunker 
Hill  not  only  excusable  but  justifiable  and  the  result 
beneficial  to  the  cause  of  liberty.  More  than  one-half 
of  the  Americans  actually  engaged  in  the  battle  were  from 
New  Hampshire.  The  leadership  of  STARK  and  the  hero 
ism  and  devotion  of  the  New  Hampshire  troops  prevented 
a  disastrous  rout  and  turned  actual  defeat  into  the  glory  of 
substantial  victory. 

The  lessons  of  the  Seven  Years  war  were  repeated  and 
verified,  and  the  colonists  learned  anew  that  British  troops 
are  not  invincible.  Lexington,  Concord,  and  Bunker  Hill 
gave  confidence  and  courage  to  the  Americans  and  fixed 
their  determination  to  resist  every  effort  to  oppress  them. 
The  war  was  actually  begun.  The  right  of  self-govern 
ment  was  on  trial.  On  the  one  side  was  the  power  of 
established  monarchical  government;  on  the  other,  the 
unorganized,  disunited,  and  somewhat  discordant  colonists, 
who  were  strong  only  in  their  love  of  liberty  and  their  firm 
purpose  to  maintain  the  freedom  they  had  enjoyed. 

After  the  evacuation  of  Boston  by  the  British,  Colonel 
STARK  and  his  regiment  marched  to  New  York  and  helped 
to  strengthen  its  defenses.  Thence  he  was  ordered  to  pro 
ceed  to  Canada  and  assist  the  American  army  there.  He 
marched  via  Albany  and  joined  the  army  at  St.  Johns. 
General  Sullivan,  another  New  Hampshire  officer,  soon 
assumed  command,  and  directed  an  attack  upon  the  ene 
my's  post  at  Three  Rivers.  STARK,  in  a  council  of  war, 
protested  against  this,  but  gave  it  his  hearty  support  when 
ordered.  The  expedition  was  a  failure.  The  retreat  was 
conducted  with  great  skill  by  General  Sullivan,  Colonel 


60  Address  of  Mr.   Baker  on  the 

STARK  bringing  up  the  rear.  They  retired  to  Crown 
Point  and  subsequently  to  Ticonderoga. 

Here,  on  the  8th  of  July,  1776,  the  Declaration  of  Inde 
pendence  was  received  and  proclaimed  to  the  army.  It 
was  greeted  with  applause  and  every  evidence  of  approval 
and  delight.  STARR'S  command  was  encamped  upon  a 
hill,  which,  in  honor  of  the  event,  was  named  Mount  In 
dependence.  Sixteen  years  before,  serving  as  a  captain 
under  General  Amherst,  he  had  been  present  when  the 
French  surrendered  Ticonderoga.  Then,  commanding  a 
regiment,  he  heard  the  independence  of  his  country  pro 
claimed  to  a  patriotic  army  holding  that  fortress  against 
the  English.  Soon  after  he  was  assigned  to  the  command 
of  a  brigade.  That  fall  he  learned  that  several  colonels 
holding  junior  rank  had  been  promoted  to  brigadier- 
generals.  He  protested  against  this,  asserting  that  such 
action  was  unjust,  would  cause  insecurity  of  rank  and 
command,  and  produce  discord  in  the  army. 

When  it  was  known  that  the  enemy  had  retired  to 
winter  quarters,  several  regiments,  including  STARK' s, 
were  ordered  to  reenforce  General  Washington,  then  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  Delaware,  at  Newtown,  Pa.  When  thus 
reenforced,  his  army  contained  about  seven  thousand  effect 
ive  men.  Congress  and  the  people  were  despondent  and 
all  felt  the  necessity  for  some  brave  action  which  should 
encourage  them.  At  this  time  STARK  gave  his  opinion 
to  General  Washington  in  favor  of  active  operations.  He 
said :  ' '  Your  men  have  too  long  been  accustomed  to  place 
their  dependence  for  safety  upon  spades  and  pickaxes.  If 
you  ever  expect  to  establish  the  independence  of  these 
States  you  must  teach  them  to  rely  upon  their  firearms 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  61 

and  their  courage."  Washington  replied:  "We  are  to 
march  upon  Trenton  to-morrow,  and  you  are  to  command 
the  advance  guard  of  the  right  wing."  He  was  also  with 
Washington  at  Princeton  and  rendered  good  service  there. 

A  few  days  before  these  engagements  the  term  of  enlist 
ment  of  two  New  Hampshire  regiments  expired.  One  of 
them  was  STARK' s  own  regiment.  There  was  no  more 
gloomy  period  of  the  war.  The  troops  were  ill-fed,  poorly 
clothed,  almost  barefoot,  and  unpaid.  In  this  emergency 
STARK  proposed  to  his  regiment  to  reenlist  for  six  weeks. 
He  told  them  that  if  they  left  the  army  the  cause  was 
lost;  he  reminded  them  of  their  valor  at  Bunker  Hill  and 
their  honorable  service  at  all  times,  and  promised  that  if 
Congress  did  not  pay  them  his  private  property  should  be 
pledged  to  raise  the  necessary  funds.  His  popularity  and 
influence  were  so  great  that  every  man  in  both  regiments 
reenlisted. 

The  army  went  into  winter  quarters  at  Morristown,  and 
STARK  returned  home  to  obtain  recruits.  Such  was  his 
reputation  that  men  readily  enlisted,  and  by  March,  1777, 
his  regiment  was  full.  He  then  reported  to  the  State 
authorities  at  Kxeter  for  any  instructions  they  might  give. 
There  he  was  informed  that  Congress  had  made  further 
promotions  of  junior  officers,  and  that  he  had  received 
no  recognition.  He  at  once  resigned  his  commission, 
although  Generals  Sullivan  and  Poor  attempted  to  dissuade 
him.  His  reply,  that  uan  officer  who  would  not  maintain 
his  rank  is  unworthy  to  serve  his  country,"  was  character 
istic  of  him,  and  showed  his  high  sense  of  honor. 

Though  dissatisfied  with  his  own  treatment,  he  remained 
faithful  to  the  cause,  and  returning  home  sent  all  the 


62  Address  of  Mr.  Baker  on  the 

members  of  his  family  into  the  army  who  were  old  enough 
for  military  duty.  In  every  way  possible,  except  by  personal 
service  in  the  army,  he  did  his  utmost  to  advance  the 
patriot  cause.  He  pointed  out  the  exposed  condition  of 
the  northern  frontier  and  the  necessity  for  the  reenforce- 
ment  of  Ticonderoga. 

His  fears  in  this  regard  were  soon  realized.  The  early 
summer  saw  the  invasion  of  the  States  by  the  army  under 
Burgoyne  and  the  retreat  of  the  American  army  from 
Ticonderoga.  The  way  seemed  clearly  open  for  the  forces 
under  Generals  Howe  and  Burgoyne  to  unite  and  maintain 
communication  from  New  York  to  Canada  by  the  Hudson 
and  Lakes  George  and  Champlain,  thus  separating  the 
States  into  two  disconnected  and  feeble  sections.  The 
danger  was  great;  the  fear  of  the  people  intense.  The 
authorities  of  Vermont  informed  the  council  of  New  Hamp 
shire  that  unless  speedy  assistance  came  to  them  they 
would  be  compelled  to  yield  to  the  power  they  could  not 
successfully  resist.  When  this  message  came  the  assembly 
of  New  Hampshire  was  not  in  session,  but  was  immediately 
summoned. 

In  three  days  they  had  assembled.  The  emergency  was 
great,  their  resources  were  few.  Our  people  had  already 
done  all  they  thought  possible.  The  public  credit  was 
exhausted,  and  many  despaired  of  being  able  either  to  raise 
or  support  another  regiment.  At  this  time  John  Langdon, 
a  merchant  of  Portsmouth,  was  speaker  of  the  house.  He 
addressed  the  representatives,  as  follows: 

I  have  three  thousand  dollars  in  hard  money;  my  plate  I  will 
pledge  for  as  much  more.  I  have  seventy  hogsheads  of  Tobago 
rum,  which  shall  be  sold  for  the  most  they  will  bring.  These  are  at 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  63 

the  service  of  the  State.  If  we  succeed,  I  shall  be  remunerated;  if 
not,  they  will  be  of  no  use  to  me.  We  can  raise  a  brigade,  and  our 
friend  STARK,  who  so  nobly  sustained  the  honor  of  our  arms  at  Bunker 
Hill,  may  safely  be  intrusted  with  the  command,  and  we  will  check 
Burgoyne. 

A  messenger  was  dispatched  for  Colonel  STARK,  who 
immediately  responded  in  person.  He  accepted  the  com 
mand  upon  the  condition  that  he  was  not  to  join  the  main 
army  or  be  responsible  to  any  authority  other  than  the 
State  of  New  Hampshire.  The  militia  officers  were  or 
dered  to  disarm  all  persons  who  made  excuses  or  refused  to 
aid  in  defending  the  country.  A  day  of  fasting  and  prayer 
was  observed  with  deep  feeling. 

The  reappearance  of  their  old  commander  filled  the 
people  with  enthusiasm.  The  militia  enlisted  with  alac 
rity,  and  soon  more  men  had  volunteered  than  had  been 
authorized.  They  reported  for  duty  at  Charlestown,  N. 
H.,  and  then  marched  to  Manchester,  near  Bennington, 
Vt.,  where  STARK  organized  and  disciplined  his  troops. 
While  there  he  was  visited  by  General  Lincoln,  with  orders 
from  General  Schuyler  to  conduct  the  New  Hampshire 
militia  to  the  main  army.  This  STARK  refused  to  do,  and 
stated  his  instructions  from  the  authorities  of  New  Hamp 
shire.  The  reply  being  reported  to  General  Schuyler,  he 
wrote  Congress  complaining  of  STARK  and  urging  his 
own  need  of  reenforcements.  Congress  passed  a  vote  of 
censure  upon  the  council  of  New  Hampshire  and  upon 
STARK. 

Meanwhile  STARK  was  preparing  for  active  work.  Bur 
goyne  had  detached  Colonel  Baum  with  a  considerable 
force  to  capture  the  military  stores  at  Bennington,  and 
STARK  was  there  to  defend  them.  He  was  joined  by  the 


64  Address  of  Mr.  Baker  on  the 

Vermont  troops  and  by  militia  from  the  Berkshire  Hills 
of  Massachusetts.  Baum  had  intrenched  himself  upon 
advantageous  ground  and  had  several  cannon  in  position. 
STARK  attacked  him  in  rear  and  in  front,  and  after  a  hotly 
contested  fight  of  two  hours  the  enemy  was  driven  from 
his  defenses  and  the  battle  won. 

The  prisoners  were  speedily  collected,  and  had  hardly 
been  marched  from  the  field  before  the  reenforcements 
which  Colonel  Baum  had  called  for  were  heard  approach 
ing.  Opportunely,  Colonel  Warner's  troops  arrived  at  the 
same  time  to  aid  STARK.  The  New  Hampshire  brigade 
rallied,  and  the  fight  was  renewed  with  great  energy  on 
both  sides,  and  lasted  until  nearly  night,  when  the  enemy 
retreated.  STARK  pursued  them  until  darkness  ended  the 
conflict.  The  victory  was  complete.  The  enemy  had  two 
hundred  and  seven  killed  and  man}-  wounded.  The 
American  loss  was  thirty  killed  and  forty  wounded. 
Four  brass  cannon,  eight  drums,  many  swords,  several 
hundred  stands  of  arms,  and  seven  hundred  and  fifty  pris 
oners  were  among  the  immediate  fruits  of  victory.  The 
militia  of  New  Hampshire,  Vermont,  and  Massachusetts 
had  met  veteran  troops  protected  by  intrenchments  de 
fended  by  artillery,  had  carried  them  at  the  point  of  the 
bayonet,  and  won  a  signal  victory.  STARK  said  of  them: 
"  Had  every  man  been  an  Alexander  or  a  Charles  the 
Twelfth  they  could  not  have  behaved  more  gallantly." 
Certainly  sixty  per  cent  of  these  troops  were  New  Hamp 
shire  men,  and  it  is  stated  that  one  hundred  and  sixty-five 
of  them  had  fought  at  Bunker  Hill. 

Doubt  and  despair  were  turned  into  faith  and  rejoicing. 
New  hope  and  life  pervaded  the  people.  The  army  gained 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  65 

new  courage,  and  offensive  operations  were  resumed. 
Burgoyne  had  met  with  a  serious  loss,  and  henceforth 
was  harassed  on  all  sides.  STARK'  s  victory  made  his  sur 
render  a  necessity.  The  French  saw  the  courage  and 
determination  of  the  Americans,  and  decided  to  assist 
them.  This  victory  was  the  turning  point  of  the  war. 
It  was  the  third  day  after  the  battle  when  Congress  passed 
its  vote  of  censure  upon  STARK,  but  as  soon  as  it  heard  of 
his  victory  it  made  full,  though  tardy,  recognition  of  his 
ability  and  patriotism.  It  passed  a  resolution  in  this 
language : 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  Congress  be  presented  to  General 
STARK,  of  the  New  Hampshire 'militia,  and  the  officers  and  troops 
under  his  command,  for  their  brave  and  successful  attack  upon  and 
signal  victory  over  the  enemy  in  their  lines  at  Bennington,  and  that 
Brigadier  STARK  be  appointed  a  brigadier  in  the  army  of  the 
United  States. 

Congress  officially  transmitted  this  resolution  to  him, 
with  the  commission  he  had  earned  months  before. 

After  the  battle,  but  before  Congress  had  done  him  jus 
tice,  he  saw  that  the  capture  of  Burgoyne  was  possible, 
and  no  personal  feeling  could  longer  keep  him  from  join 
ing  the  main  army.  But  the  term  of  enlistment  of  his 
troops  had  expired.  They  had  left  home  upon  a  day's 
notice.  General  Gates  had  a  large  command,  and  they 
could  not  see  that  their  presence  was  essential  to  success. 
Moreover,  they  had  enlisted  upon  the  distinct  understand 
ing  that  they  were  to  be  commanded  by  STARK  only,  and 
though  he  was  willing  to  waive  that  point  they  were  not, 
and  returned  home. 

Thus  General  STARK,  who  then  held  no  commission  in 
the  Continental  Army,  was  left  without  a  command,  and 
5  s — w 


66  Address  of  Mr.   Baker  on  the 

followed  his  soldiers  to  New  Hampshire.  Everywhere  he 
was  received  with  great  honor  and  many  expressions  of 
gratitude.  He  immediately  asked  for  new  enlistments, 
and  such  was  his  popularity  that  he  was  soon  in  command 
of  nearly  three  thousand  men.  He  saw  that  the  way  was 
open  for  Burgoyne  to  retreat  to  Canada,  and  decided  to 
prevent  it  by  putting  his  troops  in  the  rear  of  the  enemy. 
He  captured  Fort  Edward,  and  then  stationed  his  men  in 
such  positions  as  to  prevent  Burgoyne' s  retreat.  When 
this  became  known  to  General  Burgoyne,  he  saw  no  escape 
and  submitted  terms  for  the  surrender  of  his  army.  The 
campaign  of  1777  having  been  gloriously  ended  by  the 
capture  of  Burgoyne' s  army,  General  STARK — his  com 
mission  as  brigadier-general,  with  the  thanks  of  Congress, 
being  received — returned  home  in  high  spirits  to  raise 
recruits  and  supplies. 

In  December  he  was  ordered  by  Congress  to  proceed  to 
Albany  and  prepare  for  a  winter  campaign  in  Canada. 
These  orders  were  issued  without  the  knowledge  of  Gen 
eral  Washington,  and  the  expedition  was  abandoned  for 
lack  of  sufficient  preparation  and  support. 

General  STARK  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  the 
northern  department  in  the  spring  of  1778,  with  head 
quarters  at  Albany.  His  service  here  was  unpleasant,  as  it 
involved  no  active  operations  beyond  the  watching  and 
punishment  of  Tories  and  spies,  and  he  gladly  received 
orders  to  report  to  General  Gates  in  Rhode  Island.  Here 
he  remained  until  December,  1779,  when,  the  British  hav 
ing  been  driven  out  of  that  State,v  he  reported  to  General 
Washington  in  New  Jersey.  During  the  winter  he  re 
turned  home  for  recruits  and  supplies,  but  rejoined  the  army 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  67 

at  Morristown.  After  a  brief  service  he  was  ordered  to 
New  England  to  raise  volunteers  to  reenforce  the  army  at 
West  Point.  In  this  he  was  successful,  and,  having  deliv 
ered  the  recruits,  rejoined  his  command.  In  September 
he  returned  to  West  Point  with  his  brigade  and  resumed 
command  there.  While  on  this  duty  he  was  assigned  to 
the  court-martial  which  condemned  Major  Andre. 

His  health  became  greatly  impaired  at  the  close  of  this 
campaign  and  he  thought  seriously  of  retiring  from  the 
army,  but  by  the  advice  of  General  Sullivan  asked  for  'a 
furlough  for  the  winter.  This  was  granted,  and  in  the 
spring  he  returned  to  the  army  with  improved  health  and 
renewed  zeal.  In  June,  1781,  he  was  again  assigned  to  the 
command  of  the  northern  department,  with  headquarters 
at  Saratoga.  His  command  was  not  a  pleasant  though  an 
important  one.  There  was  no  open  foe,  but  traitors,  spies, 
and  Tories  cursed  the  land.  He  ruled  them  with  a  strong 
hand,  and  imprisonments  and  executions  were  not  infre 
quent. 

He  was  at  Saratoga  when  Cornwallis  surrendered  his 
army  at  Yorktown,  and  regretted  that  he  could  not  person 
ally  participate  in  the  glory  of  that  event. 

The  war  being  now  virtually  ended,  General  STARK  se 
cured  the  public  property,  and  thanking  his  militia  for 
faithful  services,  dismissed  them  to  their  homes.  As  1782 
passed  without  important  military  operations,  and  as  it 
was  known  that  negotiations  for  peace  were  pending,  he 
did  not  report  for  active  duty  that  year. 

In  1783  he  reported  to  General  Washington  for  any  duty 
that  might  be  assigned  him,  and  did  much  good  by  his 
endeavors  to  allay  discontent  in  the  army.  When  the 


68  Address  of  Mr.  Baker  on  the 

Society  of  the  Cincinnati  was  organized  he  regarded  it 
with  distrust  and  refused  to  join  it.  He  proposed  to  lead 
the  life  of  Cincinnatus  on  his  own  farm,  and  said:  "To 
imitate  that  great  man,  we  should  return  to  the  occupa 
tions  we  have  temporarily  abandoned  without  ostentation, 
holding  ourselves  ever  in  readiness  to  obey  the  call  of  our 
country." 

The  independence  of  the  United  States  having  been 
acknowledged  by  England,  the  army  being  disbanded,  and 
the  officers  having  taken  leave  of  Washington  and  of  one 
another,  he  quietly  returned  to  his  home  on  the  Merri- 
mack,  where  he  managed  his  estate  for  many  years,  receiv 
ing  the  respect  and  honor  due  his  virtues  and  services. 
By  an  act  of  Congress  of  September  30,  1783,  he  was 
given  the  brevet  rank  of  major-general  in  the  army  of  the 
United  States. 

In  the  events  of  the  war  of  1812  General  STARK  felt  a 
deep  interest,  but  his  advanced  age — more  than  fourscore 
years — prevented  his  taking  the  field  again.  When  he 
heard  that  the  cannon  he  had  captured  at  Bennington  had 
been  surrendered  at  Detroit  by  General  Hull  he  became 
exceedingly  angry,  and  until  they  were  recovered  by  the 
capture  of  Fort  George  never  ceased  to  bemoan  the  loss  of 
his  guns,  as  he  affectionately  called  them. 

He  lived  until  the  Republic  he  had  fought  to  establish 
had  triumphantly  emerged  from  another  war  with  England 
and  had  taken  high  rank  among  the  nations;  until  her 
institutions  were  secure  and  the  right  and  wisdom  of  self- 
government  were  vindicated. 

On  the  8th  of  May,  1822,  he  answered  the  roll  call 
where  so  many  of  his  comrades  had  preceded  him.  He 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  69 

had  outlived  all  the  generals  of  the  Revolution  except 
Sumter,  and  was  almost  ninety-four  years  old.  His  chil 
dren  were  five  sons  and  six  daughters — eleven  in  all. 
Three  of  the  sons  were  officers  in  the  army. 

General  STARK  was  well  proportioned,  of  medium  size, 
and  too  active  to  become  corpulent.  His  features  were 
well  formed  and  prominent,  his  eyes  blue  yet  piercing, 
though  softened  by  projecting  eyebrows.  His  lips  showed 
firmness  and  were  ordinarily  closed.  His  forehead  was 
high  and  full,  his  nose  sharp  and  large. 

Physically  and  mentally  he  impressed  everyone  with  his 
self-confidence,  his  self-possession  in  times  of  difficulty  or 
danger,  his  capacity  to  command,  his  power  to  execute, 
and  his  courage  at  all  times.  His  character  in  private 
and  public  life  is  without  a  stain.  Though  stern  and 
unrelenting  when  duty  called  or  honor  was  involved,  he 
was  open  and  frank  in  his  manners,  speaking  freely  his 
opinions.  He  was  always  kind  to  the  needy  and  hospita 
ble  to  all,  especially  to  his  comrades  in  arms.  His  integ 
rity  was  unquestioned,  his  honor  never  doubted.  His 
patriotism  was  pure  and  perennial.  He  said:  "The  cause 
of  my  country  appears  the  noblest  for  which  man  ever 
contended,  and  no  measures  should  be  neglected  or  sacri 
fices  withheld  which  will  support  it  to  a  favorable  result. 
In  such  a  cause  we  may  even  despise  death  itself.  You 
may  assure  Congress  that  I  am  most  happy  when  I  can 
do  my  country  the  greatest  service. ' ' 


70  Address  of  Mr.  Powers  on  the 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  POWERS. 

Mr.  SPEAKER:  Vermont  rightfully  claims  audience  on 
any  occasion  when  honor  is  proposed  to  the  memory  of 
Gen.  JOHN  STARK. 

The  military  achievement  which  gave  him  enduring 
fame  was  planned  on  her  soil  and  carried  into  successful 
execution  by  the  aid  of  Vermont  valor. 

Down  to  the  summer  of  1777  nothing  had  occurred  in 
the  war  for  independence  that  threatened  such  dire  disas 
ter  to  the  American  cause  as  the  invasion  of  General 
Burgoyne.  That  such  an  invasion  on  his  line  of  march 
was  possible  had  been  early  foreseen,  and  when  the  news 
of  Lexington  reached  the  settlers  of  Vermont,  brave  old 
Ethan  Allen  anticipated  this  danger,  and  in  a  heroic 
way  and  as  the  self-appointed  representative  of  the  Great 
Jehovah  and  the  Continental  Congress — two  authorities 
then  held  in  little  respect  by  the  commandant  of  Fort 
Ticonderoga — seized  the  fortress  which  commanded  the 
southern  entrance  to  Lake  Champlain. 

The  British  cabinet  had  discovered  that  the  great  water 
way  by  Lake  Champlain  and  the  Hudson  River  from 
Montreal  to  New  York  was  a  natural  line  of  bisection 
which  would  cut  off  New  England  from  her  sister  colo 
nies.  In  Indian  warfare  and  in  the  French  wars  this  line 
had  been  traversed  by  warring  armies,  and  its  natural  ad 
vantages,  with  its  natural  environment  were,  well  under 
stood  in  British  counsels. 

Accordingly    it   was    determined    that   a   well-equipped 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  71 

army,  under  a  trusty  commander,  should  march  by  this 
line  to  Albany,  where  it  was  expected  it  would  meet  a  co 
operating  force  coming  north  from  New  York  City,  and 
thereby  the  confederated  colonies  would  be  cut  in  twain. 

The  plan  was  bold  in  design  and  pregnant  with  hope. 
The  British  cabinet  and  the  British  people  saw  in  the  ex 
pedition  a  speedy  close  of  the  war.  Burgoyne  and  his 
generals  entered  upon  it  as  if  upon  a  holiday  excursion. 
Some  of  the  officers  were  accompanied  by  their  wives,  who 
were  for  the  first  time  to  witness  the  wild  novelties  of 
American  scenery  and  the  humiliation  of  American  rebels. 

The  army  lacked  nothing  in  equipment,  nothing  in 
numbers,  nothing  in  expectations.  But  it  lacked  all  ap 
preciation  of  the  mettle  of  New  England  farmers. 

In  marked  contrast  with  this  elevated  spirit  of  the  in 
vaders  was  the  consternation  that  seized  upon  the  settlers 
in  New  England,  especially  in  Vermont,  New  Hampshire, 
and  Massachusetts.  Vermont,  close  by  Burgoyne' s  line 
of  march,  wotild  naturally  expect  forays  from  his  army, 
so  certain  to  need  provisions  and  supplies.  An  urgent 
call  was  made  upon  the  New  Hampshire  authorities  for 
aid,  and  this  gave  STARK  the  opportunity  of  his  lifetime, 
for  by  common  consent  he  was  placed  in  command  of  the 
hastily  recruited  militia  that  gathered  on  the  Vermont 
border. 

Washington  was  too  much  engaged  south  of  New  York 
to  spare  large  detachments  to  meet  Burgoyne' s  invasion. 
General  Schuyler,  however,  was  expected  to  check  the 
advance  near  Albany ;  but  in  the  light  of  subsequent  events 
it  is  altogether  probable  that  he  would  have  failed  had  not 
Burgoyne' s  march  been  crippled  on  its  way  south  of 


72  Address  of  Mr.  PoTvers  on  the 

Ticonderoga.  The  country  through  which  he  passed  was 
sparsely  settled  and  more  sparsely  provisioned. 

STARK  saw  that  Burgoyne,  so  far  from  his  base,  would 
need  provisions  more  than  recruits,  and  rightfully  divined 
his  purpose  to  seize  whatever  stores  had  been  accumulated 
at  Bennington  for  the  use  of  the  militia  that  had  hastily 
been  called  out  for  the  defense  of  their  homes.  It  has 
often  been  said  that  General  Baum  was  detached  by  Bur 
goyne  for  the  simple  purpose  of  seizing  these  stores,  but 
this  was  not  the  main  end  in  view.  It  was  only  one  thing 
out  of  many  that  Baum  was  to  do.  Burgoyne  had  dis 
covered  that  he  had  an  enemy  on  his  flank  and  in  his  rear 
that  required  as  close  attention  as  the  one  he  expected  to 
meet  in  his  front.  He  saw  also  that  the  most  thickly  set 
tled  portions  of  Vermont,  on  both  sides  of  the  Green 
Mountains,  could  supply  him  with  provisions  and  horses, 
and  so  General  Baum  had  orders  to  seize  the  stores  at 
Bennington,  and  then,  by  way  of  Manchester,  north  of 
Bennington,  to  cross  the  mountains  and  move  down  the 
Connecticut  River  to  Brattleboro,  and  thence  through  the 
Berkshire  Hills  to  rejoin  the  main  army. 

STARR'S  determination  to  give  battle  at  Bennington  is 
thus  seen  to  have  promised  the  best  possible  protection  to 
the  infant  settlements  in  Vermont  as  well  as  the  compara 
tively  unprotected  settlements  on  both  sides  of  the  Con 
necticut  River,  and  fully  justified  him  in  declining  to  obey 
the  orders  of  General  Scliuyler  to  march  his  men  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Mohawk. 

STARR'S  commission  empowered  him  to  act  independ 
ently  of  the  Continental  Congress  and  of  officers  acting 
under  its  commission.  He  could  render  the  national  cause 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  73 

more  aid  by  disabling  the  invading  army  than  by  running- 
ahead  of  it  or  around  it,  and,  although  Congress  censured 
his  disobedience  of  Schuyler's  orders,  yet  as  soon  as  it 
learned  of  his  victory  it  made  haste  to  revoke  its  censure 
and  vote  its  thanks  to  him  and  his  men. 

The  details  of  the  battle  of  Bennington  are  familiar  his 
tory.  No  better  generalship  or  better  soldiership  was 
developed  during  the  war.  STARK  was  the  personification 
of  heroism  and  the  inspiration  of  victory.  No  commander 
less  such  could  have  held  his  undisciplined  men  so  tena 
ciously  to  duty.  He  displayed  the  dash  of  a  Sheridan,  the 
strategy  of  a  Lee,  and  the  firm  mental  poise  of  a  Grant. 

He  flanked  and  surrounded  Baum  before  opening  his 
fire.  Every  soldier  saw  in  defeat  the  possible  widowhood 
of  his  own  "Molly  Stark.  n  Such  men,  under  such  a 
leader  and  fighting  for  home,  are  always  and  everywhere 
invincible. 

The  results  of  STARK'  s  victory  at  Bennington  were  of 
the  most  far-reaching  consequence  to  the  American  cause. 
Burgoyne  had  lost  one-seventh  of  his  men  and  seven- 
sevenths  of  his  overconfidence.  His  journey  was  no  longer 
a  holiday  trip,  but  had  become  a  matter  of  anxious  busi 
ness.  He  discovered  that  he  must  meet  his  enemy  in  front 
in  a  crippled  condition,  while  the  most  rebellious  people 
on  earth  hung  upon  his  flank  like  a  withering  storm. 

Bennington  was  at  once  a  revelation  to  the  haughty 
Briton  and  an  inspiration  to  the  hopeful  American. 

Alison  says  that  the  battle  of  Valmy,  the  first  test  made 
of  the  mettle  of  soldiers  of  France  after  the  breaking  out 
of  the  revolution  of  1789,  carried  the  arms  of  France 
to  Vienna  and  the  Kremlin.  So  it  may  be  affirmed  that 


74  Address  of  Mr.   Powers  on  the 

Bennington  made  Saratoga  not  alone  possible — it  made  it 
inevitable.  Saratoga  brought  recognition  from  France 
and  Spain,  and  with  that  independence  was  practically 
won.  Bennington  restored  the  waning  courage  and  droop 
ing  hope  of  America.  It  unified  public  sentiment  through 
out  the  colonies,  it  emphasized  the  belligerent  character 
of  the  contest,  and,  better  than  all,  it  demonstrated  the 
ability  of  the  American  volunteer  to  cope  with  the  pro 
fessional  soldier  of  Europe. 

Vermont  has  in  many  ways  testified  her  appreciation  of 
the  part  taken  by  her  own  militia  and  the  militia  of  New 
Hampshire  and  Massachusetts  at  Bennington.  She  has  kept 
the  i6th  day  of  August  in  constant  annual  remembrance  for 
a  hundred  years.  Seven  years  ago  she  celebrated  the  cen 
tennial  anniversary  of  the  battle  upon  a  large  and  imposing 
scale  of  ceremonies.  The  occasion  was  graced  by  the  pres 
ence  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  his  Cabinet, 
the  governors  and  legislatures  and  many  distinguished 
citizens  of  Massachusetts,  New  Hampshire,  and  Vermont. 
Elaborate  commemorative  exercises  brought  to  the  mind  of 
the  present  generation  a  keener  view  of  the  significance  of 
the  battle.  Three  years*  ago  another  monster  celebration 
brought  together  an  assemblage  no  less  distinguished,  in 
honor  of  the  dedication  of  the  monument  erected  to  com 
memorate  the  deeds  of  STARK  and  his  men. 

To-day  New  Hampshire  adds  one  more  testimonial  of 
honor  to  her  distinguished  son  by  setting  his  statue  in  our 
national  gallery  of  fame,  and  appropriately  couples  it  with 
that  of  her  other  son,  DANIEL  WEBSTER,  the  foremost 
American  in  law,  letters,  and  statesmanship.  What  other 
State  can  boast  the  motherhood  of  two  such  sons? — the 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  75 

one  a  master  in  the  arts  of  war,  the  other  a  master  in  the 
arts  of  peace.  Both  dedicated  their  lives  to  the  honor  and 
glory  of  their  country,  and  both  have  secured  the  applause 
of  countless  millions  of  men  who  will  share  the  blessings 
of  free  government. 

Let  Statuary  Hall,  then,  admit  these  statues  into  that 
group  of  heroic  casts  that  reflect  the  civil  and  military 
renown  of  our  common  country,  and  before  their  pedestals 
the  ceaseless  throng  of  visitors  to  the  American  capital 
from  every  State  in  the  Union,  in  all  the  years  to  come, 
will  pause  to  bow  its  tribute  of  respectful  homage  to  two  of 
the  best  types  of  American  manhood. 

It  was  the  fortunate  mission  of  STARK  to  win  the  liberty 
of  his  people  to  the  end  that  a  government  of  the  people, 
by  the  people,  and  for  the  people  might  be  ordained;  and 
of  WEBSTER  to  analyze,  discover,  and  expound  the  proper 
functions  and  aims  of  the  system.  Be  it  ours  to  preserve, 
perpetuate,  and  transmit  it,  unbroken  in  form,  unchecked 
in  scope,  undefiled  in  spirit,  in  the  proud  trust  that  it  is 
unending  in  time. 


76  Address  of  Mr.  Grout  on  the 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  GROUT. 

Mr.  SPEAKER:  I  wish  in  behalf  of  Vermont  to  acknowl 
edge  the  courtesy  of  the  invitation  extended  by  New 
Hampshire  to  say  a  word  in  these  memorial  exercises 
about  Gen.  JOHN  STARK. 

This  invitation  is  accepted  with  pleasure,  because  the 
early  history  of  the  two  States  runs  so  much  together,  and 
especially  that  part  which  relates  to  the  great  event  in  the 
life  of  General  STARK,  that  Vermont  feels  almost  an  equal 
interest  in  this  occasion  with  New  Hampshire. 

That  event  really  touches  Vermont  history  at  one  of  its 
most  heroic  periods.  It  not  only  carries  us  back  to  the 
battle  of  Bennington,  where  Vermont  men  stood  side  by 
side  with  the  men  of  New  Hampshire,  but  it  opens  the 
whole  chapter  of  the  independent  career  of  Vermont  as  a 
State,  as  well  as  her  long  struggle  for  admission  into  the 
Union,  of  all  of  which  the  hero  of  Bennington  was  neither 
an  indifferent  nor  a  silent  spectator. 

General  STARK' s  victory  at  Bennington  was  so  surpris 
ing  at  the  time,  and  still  stands  so  prominently  among  the 
events  of  that  day,  that  we  naturally  want  to  know  some 
thing  of  the  men  who  stood  in  the  ranks.  Let  me  for  a 
moment  tell  you  about  those  from  Vermont,  and  the  fitting 
school  they  had  for  the  work  done  on  that  occasion. 

The  reader  of  history  knows  that  the  settlers  on  the 
New  Hampshire  Grants  received  their  lands  from  the  royal 
governor  of  the  colony  of  New  Hampshire,  paying  there 
for  the  stipulated  price ;  and  that  later  title  to  these  lands 
was  claimed  by  the  royal  governor  of  New  Y'ork  to  be  his 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  77 

by  virtue  of  the  royal  grant  to  the  Duke  of  York  in  1764; 
and  the  settlers  were  called  upon  to  pay  a  second  time. 
This  was  thought  to  be  once  too  often,  and  was  resisted 
with  spirit  by  those  hardy  pioneers,  who  were  struggling 
for  existence  against  the  difficulties  and  dangers  of  the 
wilderness,  in  which  prowled  alike  the  wild  beast  and  the 
lurking  savage. 

The  New  York  claimants  easily  obtained  writs  of  posses 
sion  from  the  New  York  courts  for  the  lands,  but  in  no 
instance  did  the  settlers  on  the  grants  allow  one  of  their 
number  to  be  permanently  ejected.  This,  of  course,  called 
for  organization,  and,  as  the  result,  the  "Green  Mountain 
Boys,"  as  they  called  themselves,  under  Allen,  Warner, 
and  Baker,  had,  for  more  than  seven  years  before  STARK 
was  at  Bennington,  been  in  a  kind  of  border  war  in  re 
sistance  to  the  attempted  jurisdiction  over  them  by  the 
King's  governor  of  the  colony  of  New  \Tork.  If  he  sent 
surveying  parties  upon  the  grants,  as  he  did,  the  settlers 
drove  them  off.  If  he  commissioned  justices  and  other 
civil  officers,  they  soon  found  official  life  at  once  a  burden 
and  a  peril,  and  resigned  or  moved  away.  If  officers  went 
from  Albany  to  serve  process  or  make  arrests  in  land  mat 
ters,  they  were,  to  use  the  language  of  an  old  report, 
* '  seized  by  the  people  and  severely  chastised  with  twigs  of 
the  wilderness. "  In  these  forays  the  sher iff  always  came 
off  second  best;  and  at  one  time,  with  a  posse  of  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  New  York  militiamen,  went  back  to 
Albany  empty-handed. 

If  by  hook  or  by  crook  a  New  York  grantee  succeeded 
in  displacing  a  settler,  as  was  done  by  Colonel  Reid  and 
his  tenants  at  the  far-away  mouth  of  Otter  Creek — of 


78  Address  of  Mr.  Grout  on  the 

Pangborn,  who  had  been  in  possession  with  a  paid-up  title 
for  twelve  years — Allen  and  his  men  hastened  to  expel  the 
intruder,  which  was  done  twice  in  this  case,  and  the  last 
time  with  notice  not  again  to  return,  "on  pain  of  suffering 
the  displeasure  of  the  Green  Mountain  Boys."  At  this 
juncture  the  governor  of  New  York  appealed  to  General 
Haldiman,  commander  in  chief  of  the  King's  troops  in 
America — this  was  in  1773 — for  help  in  enforcing  his  au 
thority  on  the  grants,  complaining  that  the  militia  could 
not  be  relied  upon.  This,  however,  the  commanding 
general  declined  to  do,  expressing  doubt  as  to  the  pro 
priety  of  using  regular  troops  for  that  purpose. 

But  I  must  not  prolong  this  story,  full  of  local  interest 
as  it  is,  and  showing,  as  it  does  when  fully  told,  the  heroic 
struggle  of  the  hardy  settlers  on  the  New  Hampshire 
Grants  in  defense  of  their  homes  and  their  lives,  which 
culminated  in  1774  in  a  proclamation  by  the  governor  of 
New  York  and  a  counter  proclamation  by  Allen  and  his 
men,  from  which  an  armed  collision  could  not  have  been 
far  away.  But  just  then  another  war  cloud  loomed  upon 
the  horizon,  obscuring  and  absorbing  for  the  time  all 
minor  controversies. 

The  cry  of  blood  from  Lexington  and  Concord  on  the 
1 9th  day  of  April,  1775,  rang  like  a  tocsin  in  every  home; 
and  instantly  every  hamlet  was  astir  with  preparations  for 
war,  and  every  patriot  breast  on  fire  for  action.  The  brave 
men  on  the  New  Hampshire  Grants  were  no  exception; 
but,  on  the  contrary,  were  conspicuous  for  activity  and 
valor.  They  forgot  for  the  time  their  differences  with  New 
York,  and,  promptly  changing  front,  gave  battle  to  the 
common  enemy. 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  79 

Not  waiting  for  the  Continental  Congress,  or  any  other 
authority  except  their  own  council  of  safety,  on  the  icth 
day  of  May  (only  twenty-one  days  after  the  affair  at  Lex 
ington)  Allen,  at  the  head  of  these  intrepid  men,  captured 
the  fortress  at  Ticonderoga,  and  upon  a  formula  that  has 
made  his  name  immortal.  On  the  same  day  these  men 
also  captured  the  garrisons  at  Crown  Point  and  Skeensboro. 
And  later  we  find  Allen  in  unequal  conflict  with  General 
Carleton  at  St.  Johns,  where  he  was  unfortunately  taken 
prisoner.  And  later  still  the  same  year  we  find  Warner, 
with  his  "Green  Mountain  Boys,"  repulsing  Carleton  at 
Montreal  and  sending  him  by  night,  with  muffled  oars, 
down  the  St.  Lawrence  to  Quebec.  And  these  (except 
Allen,  who  was  still  a  prisoner  of  war  in  London)  and 
others  like  them  from  the  State  of  Vermont  were  the  men 
whom  STARK  had  to  help  him  at  Bennington. 

I  said  the  State  of  Vermont.  I  should  have  said  the 
independent  State  of  Vermont,  for  such  the  New  Hamp 
shire  Grants  had  become  at  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Ben 
nington. 

The  settlers  on  the  grants,  finding  themselves  in  the 
midst  of  a  great  war,  and  on  the  very  frontier  between  the 
contending  forces,  and  without  organization  or  allegiance, 
except  as  claimed  by  New  York,  to  which  they  could 
never  accede,  just  twenty  days  after  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  to  wit,  on  the  24th  day  of  July,  1776,  met 
in  convention  at  Dorset,  and,  at  an  adjourned  meeting  the 
following  January,  declared  their  territory  u  to  be  forever 
thereafter  a  free  and  independent  jurisdiction  or  State 
under  the  name  of  Vermont;"  thus  cutting  loose  from 
every  other  power  or  authority  on  the  footstool,  and 


80  Address  of  Mr.  Grout  on  the 

acknowledging  allegiance  only  to  the  Supreme  Ruler  of  the 
Universe.  And  this  little  in  dependent  State  so  maintained 
herself  for  the  period  of  fourteen  years,  and  until  her 
admission  into  the  Union  in  1791,  all  the  time  standing 
out  as  an  independent  power  among  the  powers  of  the 
earth,  with  a  sovereignty  of  her  own,  a  currency  of  her 
own,  including  coinage,  with  postal  and  excise  laws — in 
fact,  laws  of  every  kind  of  her  own,  and  withal  with  a  na 
tional  policy  of  her  own,  which,  firmly  adhered  to,  at  last 
secured  for  her  an  equal  place  in  the  Union  of  the  States. 

The  new  State,  of  course,  had  a  constitution.  And  that 
you  may  more  fully  understand  the  character  of  the  men 
from  Vermont  who  supported  STARK  at  Bennington,  let 
me  read  two  brief  sections  from  their  constitution. 

In  the  very  first  section  is  found  this  language: 

No  male  person  born  in  this  country  or  brought  from  over  sea  shall 
be  holden  by  law  to  serve  any  person  as  a  servant,  slave,  or  appren 
tice  after  he  arrives  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  years;  nor  female  in 
like  manner  after  she  arrives  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years,  unless  they 
are  bound  by  their  own  consent  after  they  arrive  at  such  age,  or  bound 
by  law  for  the  payment  of  debts,  damages,  fines,  costs,  or  the  like. 

This  constitution  was  adopted  July  8,  1777,  ten  years 
before  the  Federal  Constitution  and  six  months  before  the 
old  Articles  of  Confederation — early,  as  you  will  see,  in 
the  era  of  written  constitutions  ;  and  yet,  with  slight  alter 
ations,  it  is  the  constitution  of  Vermont  to-day,  and  a 
model  of  its  kind,  providing  for  every  function  of  govern 
ment — legislative,  executive,  and  judicial — even  to  author 
ity  for  the  establishment  of  a  court  of  chancery,  a  branch 
of  jurisprudence  then  in  the  infancy  of  its  modern  jurisdic 
tion.  But  more  notable  than  all  this  is  the  fact  that  it  con 
tained  this  prohibition  of  slavery,  while  every  one  of  the 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  81 

colonies  tolerated  the  institution.  And  more  notable  still 
is  the  fact  that  it  is  the  first  constitutional  prohibition  of 
slavery  ever  put  forth  by  any  people  anywhere,  at  any  time, 
in  the  whole  history  of  man.  Yes,  let  it  be  written  in 
letters  of  gold  that  the  "Green  Mountain  Boys"  were  the 
first  in  all  the  earth  to  write  in  their  organic  law  an  abso 
lute  interdiction  of  an  institution  which  had  run  with  the 
history  of  the  race,  and  which  all  the  more  enlightened 
nations  have  since  copied,  and  at  last,  though  in  blood, 
has  been  written  in  the  Constitution  of  our  common 
country. 

The  other  section  in  that  remarkable  constitution  which 
I  wish  to  read  is  as  follows: 

No  man  ought  to,  or  of  right  can,  be  compelled  to  attend  any 
religious  worship,  or  erect  or  support  any  place  of  worship,  or  main 
tain  any  minister  contrary  to  the  dictates  of  his  conscience  ;  nor 
can  any  man  be  justly  deprived  or  abridged  of  any  civil  right  as  a 
citizen  on  account  of  his  religious  sentiments  or  peculiar  mode  of 
religious  worship;  and  that  no  authority  can,  or  ought  to,  be  vested 
in  or  assumed  by  any  power  whatever  that  shall  in  any  case  interfere 
with  or  in  any  manner  control  the  rights  of  conscience  in  a  free 
religious  worship. 

Now,  here  was  a  clean  departure  by  New  England  men 
from  New  England  laws,  customs,  and  traditions.  Here 
was  a  declaration  for  a  complete  separation  of  church  and 
state,  while  at  that  time  throughout  New  England,  except 
Rhode  Island  alone,  the  church  and  state  were  so  united 
that  it  was  difficult  to  distinguish  between  the  two.  All 
were  taxed  by  law  for  the  support  of  the  established  wor 
ship,  and  all  were  compelled  to  wait  on  its  ministrations. 

In  those  early  New  England  days  no  one  could  vote 
unless  he  belonged  to  the  church,  and  one's  influence  in 
6  s— w 


82  Address  of  Mr.    Grout  on  the 

public  life  was  always  measured  by  his  observance  of  its 

• 

rites  and  ceremonies.  In  that  day  this  was  a  universal  con 
dition  ;  no  power  on  the  face  of  the  globe  existed  without  a 
state  religion.  And  to  this  late  day  it  remains,  though  in 
modified  form,  a  disturbing  question  in  English  politics, 
the  great  Gladstone  having  closed  one  of  the  most  bril 
liant  careers  in  English  history  and  left  to  his  successors  in 
office  the  difficult  and  delicate  work  of  disestablishing  the 
church. 

But  the  men  on  the  New  Hampshire  Grants  took  the 
centuries  by  the  forelock.  When  they  flung  in  the  face  of 
all  the  world  the  flag  of  their  free  State,  they  said  it  shall 
be  free  indeed  ;  shall  forever  be  the  dwelling  place  of  com 
plete  civil  and  religious  liberty.  They  said  the  church 
shall  not  be  supported  on  compulsion  of  law,  but  by  vol 
untary  contribution,  as  it  is  to-day  throughout  all  this 
broad  land. 

Mr.  Speaker,  let  it  not  be  thought  that  this  was  the  decla 
ration  of  a  wild,  wayward  set  of  fellows  with  more  courage 
than  conscience.  The  last  clause  of  this  free  religious  sec 
tion  shows  that  they  were  not  only  liberty-loving  but  God 
fearing  men.  It  is  as  follows: 

Nevertheless,  every  sect  or  denomination  of  Christians  ought  to 
observe  the  Sabbath  or  Lord's  Day,  and  keep  up  some  sort  of  religious 
worship  which  to  them  shall  seem  most  agreeable  to  the  revealed  will 
of  God. 

And  the  first  legislature  under  this  constitution,  till 
special  statutes  could  be  adopted,  declared  the  laws  uas 
they  stand  in  the  Connecticut  law  book,  and  in  defect  of 
such  laws  the  plain  word  of  God  as  contained  in  the  Holy 
Scripture,  to  be  the  law  of  the  land."  And  in  further 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  83 

proof  that  these  were  not  irreverent  men,  the  second  legis 
lature  passed  a  law  punishing  blasphemy  with  death,  and 
profane  swearing,  cursing,  lying,  and  drunkenness  with 
sitting  in  the  stocks. 

But  enough.  This  constitution  was  adopted  at  Wind 
sor,  July  8,  1777,  only  thirty-nine  days  before  the  battle 
of  Bennington  ;  and  as  it  was  being  read,  paragraph  by 
paragraph,  for  the  last  time,  a  courier  arrived  in  hot  haste 
from  the  west  side  with  information  of  the  fall  of  Ticon- 
deroga  and  that  Burgoyne  was  advancing  in  heavy  force 
along  both  sides  of  Lake  Champlain. 

To  quote  from  myself  on  another  occasion :  ' '  Here  was 
indeed  an  awful  crisis,  one  beyond  the  control  of  consti 
tutions  or  conventions  and  for  which  the  only  cure  was 
bayonets  and  bullets,  which  certain  and  effective  remedy 
every  man  in  that  convention  felt  that  he  knew  how  to 
administer;  and  some  were  for  instant  adjournment  and 
immediate  work  on  Burgoyne' s  flank.  Allen  in  his  his 
tory  says  they  would  have  adjourned  only  for  a  terrific 
thunderstorm,  which  detained  them  in  the  building.  But 
they  did  not  adjourn,  and  there,  amid  salvos  of  heaven's 
artillery,  these  men  completed  their  work,  laying  broad 
and  deep  the  foundations  of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  and 
marking,  as  by  a  milestone,  an  era  in  constitutional  gov 
ernment.  They  appointed  a  committee  of  safety,  called  on 
New  Hampshire  and  Massachusetts  for  help,  and  adjourned 
and  hurried  over  the  mountain  to  pay  their  respects  to 
General  Burgoyne." 

And  these  are  the  men,  these  constitution  makers  and 
such  as  these  from  the  new  independent  State  of  Vermont, 
who  were  at  Bennington  on  the  memorable  i6th  of  August 


84  Address  of  Mr.  Grout  on  the 

with  STARK,  who  had  brought  over  the  mountains  from 
New  Hampshire  brave  men  of  equal  character;  for  among 
the  number,  and  probably  a  fair  sample  of  the  lot,  was 
Capt.  Ebenezer  Webster,  father  of  the  godlike  DANIEL,  the 
great  Constitution  expounder,  whose  statue  stands  along 
side  that  of  STARK  in  yonder  Hall,  and  whose  name  is  writ 
with  his  high  on  the  scroll  of  fame. 

How  little  these  men  could  have  thought  that  this  sul>- 
lime  portion  awaited  them,  when  DANIEL,  a  young  lawyer 
at  Portsmouth,  on  his  way  to  the  courts  in  Coneord,  and 
STARK,  living  in  the  retirement  of  his  farm,  met  at  the 
old  hotel  in  Hookset,  and  the  hero  of  Bennington  spoke  of 
the  sale  of  himself  at  one  time  for  forty  pounds,  and  was 
ready  to  believe  DANIEL  was  the  son  of  Captain  Webster 
because  of  the  same  deep,  swarthy  color  of  his  face,  only 
"blacker." 

But  let  us  for  a  moment  see  how  STARK  happened  to  be 
at  Bennington.  We  left  the  courier  at  Windsor  on  July  8 
with  information  of  Burgoyne's  advance,  which  was,  of 
course,  forwarded  to  the  New  Hampshire  council  of  safety, 
and  must  have  been  received  not  later  than  the  nth  or 
1 2th. 

The  Vermont  council  of  safety  had  learned  from  the 
affair  at  Hubbardton  that  without  assistance  they  were 
powerless  against  Burgoyne's  ten  thousand,  flanked  by 
merciless  savages,  who  thought  only  of  scalps,  and  on  July 
13,  from  Manchester,  addressed  a  formal  appeal  to  the  New 
Hampshire  council,  asking  for  help,  and  reminding  them 
that  when  Vermont  was  subjugated  New  Hampshire  her 
self  would  be  on  the  frontier.  This  appeal  was  addressed 
to  New  Hampshire  because  there  was  no  time  in  which  to 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  85 

reach  Congress  or  the  commander  in  chief  of  the  Conti 
nental  army;  and  the  policy  of  Schuyler,  commanding  in 
that  quarter,  was  to  draw  everything  from  Vermont  and 
concentrate  at  Stillwater,  in  which  the  independent  State 
of  Vermont  did  not  believe. 

The  patriotic  spirit  of  New  Hampshire  was  at  fever 
heat.  Her  general  court  was  in  session,  and  she  responded 
nobly  and  promptly.  On  July  19  the  president  of  her 
council  notified  the  Vermont  council  that  orders  were  then 
issuing  for  three  battalions  under  General  STARK  to  go  to 
their  assistance,  and  that  they  should  depend  upon  the 
people  of  Vermont  to  provision  them;  and  also  asking  to 
have  some  proper  person  meet  General  STARK  at  Number 
Four  (Charlestown)  to  explain  the  situation  and  conduct 
him  over  the  mountains. 

On  July  30  STARK  was  in  Charlestown,  calling  on  the 
New  Hampshire  council  for  kettles  and  bullet  molds,  say 
ing  there  was  but  one  pair  in  the  place. 

Think  of  it !     One  pair  of  bullet  molds  for  an  army  ! 

On  August  2  he  again  wrote  from  Charlestown: 

Brigade  not  yet  complete.  *  *  *  Would  have  sent  account 
of  strength,  but  troops  arrive  in  small  parties  and  are  sent  forward 
in  small  divisions.  Shall  leave  one  company  here  and  two  on 
height  of  land  between  this  place  and  Otter  Creek  to  protect  the 
inhabitants. 

On  August  6  he  was  at  Peru,  011  the  mountain  top;  on 
August  7  at  Manchester,  and  on  August  9  at  Bennington. 
Only  twenty  days  from  the  time  he  received  orders  he  had 
recruited  and  equipped  his  little  army  and  had  it  on  the 
ground.  Napoleon  never  moved  with  greater  promptitude 
nor  greater  celerity.  And  he,  you  will  remember,  when 


86  Address  of  Mr.  Grout  on  the 

asked  why  it  was  that  he  always  whipped  the  Austrians, 
replied:  "Because  they  do  not  understand  the  value  of 
five  minutes  of  time."  It  should  be  remembered  that  these 
men  from  New  Hampshire  were  not  in  the  service,  but 
came  up  straight  from  their  homes  on  call  of  the  council. 
But  why  did  STARK  stop  at  Bennington?  Why  did  he  not 
join  Schuyler  at  Stillwater,  as  at  Manchester  he  received 
orders  from  that  general  to  do? 

Some  have  criticised  General  STARK  for  not  obeying 
Schuyler' s  order,  and  others  have  claimed  he  did  obey. 
But  it  should  be  remembered  that  STARK  did  not  receive 
his  authority  from  Congress,  but  from  the  council  of  safety 
of  New  Hampshire,  and  upon  express  condition  that  he  was 
not,  unless  he  chose,  to  report  to  or  obey  any  Continental 
officer  or  the  Continental  Congress,  from  whose  service  he 
had  just  resigned ;  that  he  was,  in  short,  to  cooperate  with 
the  troops  in  Vermont  or  elsewhere  as  he  thought  best 
for  the  protection  of  the  people  and  the  annoyance  of  the 
enemy;  and  when  General  Lincoln  presented  Schuyler' s 
order  at  Manchester,  STARK  undoubtedly  explained  the 
independent  nature  of  his  command  and  declined  to  be 
ordered  by  him.  This  is  quite  clear  from  the  fact  that  on 
Lincoln's  report  to  Schuyler  and  his  to  Washington  Con 
gress  proceeded  on  the  iQth,  three  days  after  the  battle,  to 
censure  the  New  Hampshire  council  for  sending  STARK  out 
in  that  irregular  way.  And  yet,  in  a  letter  to  the  Hartford 
Courant  of  August  18,  two  days  after  the  battle,  speak 
ing  of  this  order,  STARK  says: 

In  obedience  thereto  I  marched  with  my  brigade  to  Bennington 
on  my  way  to  join  him  (Schuyler),  leaving  that  part  of  the  country 
(about  Manchester)  almost  naked  to  the  ravage  of  the  enemy. 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  87 

Now,  from  this  it  would  seem  that  while  STARK  had  sig 
nified  to  Lincoln  that  he  could  not  be  ordered  by  Sclmyler 
or  any  other  authority  except  the  New  Hampshire  council 
of  safety,  yet  he  had  gone  to  Bennington,  in  the  direction 
of  Schuyler,  not  being  fully  decided  but  that  he  might 
join  him  in  case  he  thought  it  best  for  the  cause,  as  after 
the  battle  he  in  fact  did. 

But  why  did  he  stop  at  Bennington,  where  he  won  a 
brilliant  victory,  which  was  the  very  first  streak  of  light 
in  the  Continental  struggle?  He  tells  us  why  in  this  same 
letter. 

In  the  very  next  sentence  he  says: 

The  honorable  the  council  then  sitting  at  Eennington  were  much 
against  my  marching  with  my  brigade,  as  it  was  raised  on  their  re 
quest,  they  apprehending  great  danger  of  the  enemy  approaching  to 
that  place,  which  afterwards  we  found  truly  to  be  the  case.  They 
also  happily  agreed  to  postpone  giving  orders  to  the  militia  to  march. 

Of  course  they  did.  They  never  for  a  moment  thought 
of  sending  the  Vermont  militia  to  Schuyler  till  the  storm 
had  swept  past  them ;  and  they  persuaded  STARK  that  if 
he  would  but  stop  with  them  there  would  soon  be  business 
for  them  all,  as  there  was.  They  knew,  for  they  had 
dwelt  upon  it  so  long  that  with  them  it  was  a  verity,  and 
STARK,  with  quick  military  intuition,  instantly  saw  that 
Burgoyne  would  not  move  on  to  Stillwater  without  reach 
ing  out,  as  he  passed,  for  the  valuable  stores  at  Benning 
ton,  which  were  so  much  needed  by  his  army. 

Why,  the  men  of  this  council  of  safety,  who  STARK  says 
in  this  same  letter  were  just  from  general  State  convention 
at  Windsor,  could  not  only  make  constitutions,  having 
just  turned  out  one  that  overlapped  the  progressive  growth 


88  Address  of  Mr.  Grout  on  the 

of  public  opinion  for  a  hundred  years,  but  they  could  also 
plan  campaigns.  Their  whole  lifetime  had  been  a  con 
tinuous  campaign  in  defense  of  their  homes,  their  lands, 
and  their  lives.  They  took  nothing  for  granted,  but  were 
ever  on  the  alert;  and  as  early  as  July  15,  at  Manchester, 
foresaw  the  battle  of  Bennington.  In  a  circular  to  the 
militia  officers,  among  other  things,  they  said  (using  the 
capitals  and  spelling  of  the  original): 

The  Continental  Stores  at  Bennington  seem  to  be  their  prese.it 
aim.  You  will  be  supplied  with  provisions  here  on  your  arrival. 
Pray  send  all  the  Troops  you  can  Possibly  Raise;  we  can  Repulse 
them  if  we  have  assistance. 

And  again,  on  the  i3th  of  August,  at  Bennington,  they 
sent  an  order  to  Colonel  Marsh,  saying: 

There  are  therefore  the  most  Positive  terms  to  require  you  with 
out  a  moments  Loss  of  time  to  march  one-half  of  the  Regiment 
under  your  Command  to  this  Place. 

####### 

There  will  Doubtless  be  an  attack  at  or  near  this  Place  within 
twenty-four  howers.  We  have  the  assistance  of  General  Stark  with 
his  Brigade.  You  will  hurry  what  Rangers  forward  are  Recrutecl. 
Now  is  the  Time,  Sir. 

And  it  turned  out  that  it  was  the  time. 

But  I  must  not  dwell  on  the  battle  of  Bennington.  It  was 
a  small  affair  in  numbers,  but  out  of  all  proportion  thereto 
in  results.  STARK  had  with  him  from  New  Hampshire 
eight  hundred  men,  and  from  Vermont,  then  sparsely  popu 
lated,  six  hundred  men,  and  probably  one  hundred  and  fifty 
from  the  Berkshire  Hills  in  Massachusetts,  near  by ;  only 
fifteen  or  sixteen  hundred  all  told.  But  every  man  was  there 
because  he  wanted  to  be.  He  was  there  to  strike  for  lib 
erty,  for  independence,  and  against  the  monarchical  idea  in 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  89 

government.  And  what  chance  had  the  savages,  the  Tories, 
the  Hessian  hirelings,  or  the  King's  troops  against  such 
men,  among  whom  was  a  pastor  and  his  flock,  and  all  of 
whom  were  imbued  with  something  of  the  spirit  of  those 
of  old,  of  whom  it  was  said:  "Five  of  you  shall  chase  a 
hundred,  and  a  hundred  of  you  shall  put  ten  thousand  to 
flight"? 

Verily,  these  men,  though  few,  were  a  host,  and  their 
leader  was  every  way  worthy  to  command  them.  He  was 
no  novice  in  war.  He  was  a  veteran  of  that  seven  years 
struggle  between  the  French  and  English  for  supremacy 
on  this  continent.  He  was  in  the  successful  defense  of 
Fort  William  Henry  in  1757;  was  with  Lord  Howe  in  his 
unsuccessful  assault  on  Ticonderoga  in  1758;  was  with 
Amherst  at  its  reduction  in  1759;  was  on  the  left  of  the 
line  at  Bunker  Hill,  where  the  redcoats  were  three  times 
repulsed,  and  was  the  last  to  retire;  was  with  Washington 
at  Trenton  and  Princeton,  and  in  all  these  encounters  he 
was  brave  and  capable.  He  was  every  inch  a  soldier  and 
he  knew  it,  and  now  that  he  had  an  independent  com 
mand  he  proposed  to  show  the  Continental  Congress,  whose 
favor  he  seems  not  to  have  gained,  that  he  could  fight  and 
win;  that  he  knew — 

When  to  advance,  or  stand,  or  turn  the  sway 
Of  battle;  open  when,  and  when  to  close 
The  ridges  of  grim  war. 

He  chafed  like  a  caged  lion  all  day  that  rainy  I5th  while 
the  enemy  was  throwing  up  his  intrenchments,  but  in  the 
morning  made  his  dispositions  for  attack,  and  in  such  a  way 
that  wrhen  the  game  came  down  he  would  bag  it;  for,  though 
the  enemy  was  behind  breastworks,  with  artillery,  and  he 


90  Address  of  Mr.   Grout  on  the 

had  none,  he  was  confident  of  victory,  and  victory  was  his, 
though  not  without  the  "hottest"  fight  this  soldier  of  a 
dozen  battles  had  ever  seen,  and  of  which  he  said  in  his 
official  report  that  "had  every  man  been  an  Alexander  or 
Charles  of  Sweden  he  conld  not  have  behaved  better." 

The  poet  has  presented  STARK  at  Bennington  in  the  fol 
lowing  lines: 

When  on  that  field  his  band  the  Hessians  fought, 

Briefly  he  spoke  before  the  fight  began: 
"Soldiers,  those  German  gentlemen  were  bought 

For  four  pounds  eight  and  sevenpence  per  man 
By  England's  King;  a  bargain  it  is  thought. 

Are  we  worth  more?     Let's  prove  it  while  we  can; 
For  we  must  beat  them,  boys,  ere  set  of  sun, 

Or  my  wife  sleeps  a  widow  " — It  was  done. 

Yes,  "it  was  done."  The  day  was  ours,  with  four  brass 
cannon,  two  of  which  now  guard  the  State  capitol  of  Ver 
mont,  and  the  other  two  ought  to  guard  that  of  New 
Hampshire;  one  thousand  stand  of  arms,  forty-four  offi 
cers,  and  seven  hundred  and  fifty  prisoners,  with  two  hun 
dred  and  seven  of  the  enemy,  as  STARK  reported,  "killed 
on  the  spot." 

Yes,  "it  was  done."  But  at  one  time  the  fate  of  the 
day  hung  trembling  in  the  balance.  It  was  after  the  pa 
triots  had  finished  Baum,  charging  over  his  breastworks 
and  capturing  his  cannon,  with  hardly  a  bayonet,  with 
only  fowling  pieces,  and  after  they  supposed  and  STARK 
supposed  the  battle  was  won,  and  after  the  troops  had 
scattered,  some  pursuing  and  gathering  up  and  others 
guarding  prisoners,  some  seeking  refreshments  and  others 
collecting  the  spoils  of  victory,  when  of  a  sudden  Brey- 
man's  bugles  sounded  his  approach  with  a  thousand  fresh 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  9 1 

men  and  two  field  pieces.  .This  officer  in  his  report  says: 
"The  cannon  were  posted  on  a  road  where  there  was  a  log 
house.  This  we  fired  into,  as  it  was  occupied  by  rebels. ' ' 
And  later  he  says,  ' '  We  then  repulsed  them  on  all  sides. ' ' 

It  was  a  critical  moment.  Was  it  possible  for  STARK  to 
rally  his  scattered  men,  weary  with  the  work  of  one  bat 
tle,  and  fight  another?  In  his  report  he  says:  "Luckily 
for  us,  Colonel  Warner's  regiment  came  up,  which  put  a 
stop  to  their  career.  We  soon  rallied,  and  in  a  few  min 
utes  the  action  became  very  warm  and  desperate,  which 
lasted  until  night."  Not  more  timely  nor  more  decisive 
of  the  day  was  the  arrival  of  Dessaix  at  Marengo  or  of 
Blucher  at  Waterloo  than  was  the  coming  of  those  one 
hundred  and  fifty  fresh  men  of  Warner's  regiment,  who 
had  marched  from  Manchester,  under  Major  SafTord,  after 
the  battle  was  set  at  Bennington,  Warner  himself  having 
been  all  day  with  STARK  in  the  fight. 

Who  will  say  what  the  result  of  that  day's  business 
might  have  been  only  for  the  arrival,  in  the  very  nick  of 
time,  of  those  "Green  Mountain  Boys,"  who  with  impet 
uous  zeal  went  immediately  into  action,  and,  as  STARK 
himself  says,  "  put  an  end  to  their  career."  Who  will  say 
what  the  entry  by  the  Muse  of  History  against  the  name 
of  JOHN  STARK  might  have  been  had  not  those  fresh  men 
"put  a  stop  to  their  career,"  and  enabled  STARK  to  say: 
( '  We  soon  rallied, ' '  etc.  ?  Probably  no  one  can  appreciate 
the  significance  of  this  question  more  completely  than  did 
the  old  hero  himself,  for  in  his  letter  to  General  Gates  he 
says:  "Colonel  Warner's  superior  skill  in  the  action  was 
of  extraordinary  service  to  me.  I  would  be  glad  if  he  and 
his  men  could  be  remembered  by  Congress."  And  from 


92  Address  of  Mr.  Grout  on  the 

that  day   forth  General  STARK  always  held  the  warmest 

% 

friendship  toward  the  people  of  Vermont. 

But  the  battle  was  won,  and  STARK' s  name  and  fame  are 
now  the  common  heritage  of  the  American  people,  chal 
lenging  always  their  applause  and  gratitude.  The  results 
of  this  victory  were  indeed  far  reaching,  and  its  effect  upon 
the  colonial  cause,  loaded  down  with  two  years  of  disaster 
and  discouragement,  was  almost  magical.  Since  the  cap 
ture  of  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point  by  Allen  in  1775 
on  substantial  victory  had  crowned  the  Continental  arms 
in  any  quarter.  And  now  Burgoyne,  with  a  splendidly 
equipped  army,  was  to  march  from  Canada  to  New  York 
by  way  of  Albany  and  the  Hudson,  thereby  impressing 
the  people  with  the  invincibility  of  the  King's  troops  and 
the  great  advantage  of  the  King's  protection.  Men  will  not 
long  stand  up  for  a  government  that  can  not  protect  them. 

Ticonderoga,  long  considered  ' '  the  key  to  North  Amer 
ica,"  had  fallen  before  Burgoyne's  triumphal  march,  of 
which  Schuyler  wrote: 

An  event  so  alarming  has  not  happened  since  the  contest  began. 

In  some  places  it  was  the  occasion  of  fasting  and  prayer. 
The  Tory  everywhere  raised  his  head,  and  the  Whig  was 
filled  with  fear.  Meanwhile  Burgoyne  was  moving  toward 
the  Hudson,  all  the  time  holding  in  each  hand  the  King's 
ready  pardon  and  protection  for  his  loving  subjects,  and 
his  army  was  all  the  time  increasing  by  Tory  recruits, 
while  the  desertions  from  St.  Clair's  army  as  it  fell  back 
from  Ticonderoga  were  fearful  to  contemplate.  On  July  14 
General  Schuyler  wrote  Washington  from  Fort  Edward: 

I  am  informed  a  very  great  proportion  of  the  inhabitants  are  tak 
ing  protection  from  General  Burgoyne,  as  most  of  those  in  this 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  93 

quarter  are  willing  to  do.  Desertions  prevail  and  disease  gains 
ground;  nor  is  it  to  be  wondered,  for  we  have  neither  tents,  houses, 
barns,  boards,  or  shelter,  except  a  little  brush.  Every  rain  that  falls, 
and  we  have  it  in  great  abundance  almost  every  day,  wets  the  men 
to  the  skin.  We  are,  besides,  in  great  want  of  every  kind  of  neces 
sary,  provision  excepted.  We  have  camp  kettles  so  few  that  we 
can  not  afford  one  to  twenty  men. 

Washington  was  almost  discouraged.  August  7,  nine 
days  before  the  battle  of  Bennington,  he  wrote  Schuyler; 

As  matters  are  going  on,  General  Burgoyne  will  find  little  diffi 
culty  in  penetrating  to  Albany. 

And  again  he  wrote: 

Could  we  be  so  happy  as  to  cut  off  one  of  his  detachments,  sup 
posing  it  should  not  exceed  four,  five,  or  six  hundred  men,  it  would 
inspire  the  people  and  do  away  with  much  of  the  present  anxiety. 
In  such  an  event  they  would  lose  sight  of  past  misfortunes,  fly  to 
arms,  and  afford  every  aid  in  their  power. 

While  Washington  was  praying  STARK  performed  ;  this, 
only  on  a  larger  scale,  was  just  what  he  did  at  Bennington, 
and  Washington's  prediction  was  verified.  It  electrified 
the  colonies.  Handbills  giving  the  news  went  out  from 
Boston.  Town-criers  throughout  all  New  Kngland  pro 
claimed  it.  Bonfires  were  built,  bells  were  rung,  and  again 
the  colonies  were  aglow  with  a  spirit  of  patriotism  and  valor. 
All  had  been  darkness,  but  light  was  breaking.  Bur 
goyne' s  army  was  no  longer  looked  upon  as  invincible. 
STARK  had  revealed  the  fact  that  it  could  be  beaten,  and 
badly  beaten,  too  ;  that  Indians,  Tories,  Hessians,  Cana 
dian  volunteers,  and  British  regulars  could  all  be  over 
whelmed  together. 

The  wise  new  prudence  from  the  wise  acquire, 
And  one  brave  hero  fans  another's  fire. 


94  Address  of  Mr.  Grout  on  the 

Instead  of  desertions  there  were  now  enlistments.  Not 
only  this,  but  no  more  Tories  rallied  to  Burgoyne's  stand 
ard.  They  did  not  contemplate  with  satisfaction  the  treat 
ment  of  their  brethren  taken  prisoners  at  Bennington,  who 
were  tied  two  and  two  with  bedcords,  furnished  by  the 
Bennington  housewives,  and  then  fastened  to  a  horse  and 
marched  through  the  streets  amid  the  jeers  and  gibes  and 
thrusts  of  the  indignant  crowd.  The  victory  at  Benning 
ton  wrought  a  complete  change  in  the  atmosphere  of  the 
northern  department.  The  Indians  even  took  it  in.  Gov 
ernor  Clinton  wrote: 

Since  that  affair  not  an  Indian  has  been  heard  of;  the  scalping 
has  ceased. 

And  later  two  hundred  and  fifty  Indians  in  a  body  left 
Burgoyne's  army  and  joined  the  American  forces. 

When  Washington  heard  the  news  from  Bennington  he 
said:  "One  more  such  stroke  and  we  shall  have  no  great 

o 

cause  of  anxiety  as  to  the  designs  of  Great  Britain. ' '  And 
in  writing  Putnam  he  expressed  the  hope  that  New  Eng 
land  would  follow  up  the  blow  struck  by  STARK  and  crush 
Burgoyne.  And  she  did;  October  17  told  the  story.  Sara 
toga  was  the  place. 

But  he  received  his  deathblow  the  i6th  of  August.  On 
the  i8th,  two  days  after  the  battle,  in  a  letter  to  Lord  Ger 
main,  explaining  the  difficulties  that  beset  him,  he  said, 
among  other  things: 

The  Hampshire  Grants  in  particular,  a  country  unpeopled  and 
almost  unknown  in  the  last  war,  now  abounds  in  the  most  warlike 
and  rebellious  race  of  the  continent,  and  hangs  like  a  gathering  storm 
on  my  left. 

Burgoyne  was  both  surprised  and  stupefied.  The  Baron 
ess  Reidesel,  then  with  her  husband  in  the  British  camp, 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  95 

well    explained    the   changed   condition  when   she  wrote: 
uThis  unfortunate  event  paralyzed  at  once  our  operations." 

Could  Burgoyne  have  foreseen  the  storm  that  was  gath 
ering  for  him  at  Stillwater,  set  in  motion  by  STARK'S  in 
spiriting  example  at  Bennington,  and  have  pushed  forward 
without  delay,  he  might  have  connected  with  Sir  Henry 
Clinton  on  the  Lower  Hudson,  or,  acting  seasonably,  he 
might  have  fallen  back  on  Canada. 

But  after  this  unexpected  blow  at  Bennington  he  seemed 
to  drift  in  a  bewildered,  aimless  way,  till  Warner,  with  his 
"Green  Mountain  Boys,"  had  cut  off  all  chance  of  retreat 
by  capturing  the  transports  on  the  lakes,  and  at  last  the 
most  powerful  army  that  ever  entered  America  from  Can 
ada  was  surrendered  and  largely  absorbed  into  American 
citizenship;  and  Burgoyne,  the  pet  of  the  ministry,  wrent 
home  in  disgrace  and  out  of  sight  forever.  And  JOHN 
STARK  was  the  man  who  dealt  him  the  stunning  blow 
that  ended  his  career! 

But  enough.  STARK  never  forgot  how  the  Vermonters 
helped  him  out  on  that  greatest  day  of  his  life;  and  in  that 
prolonged  and  varying  struggle  of  the  people  of  Vermont 
for  admission  into  the  Union,  which  lasted  in  all  fourteen 
years,  and  was  full  of  novel  situations  and  dangerous  com 
plications,  STARK  was  all  the  time  their  consistent  and 
faithful  friend.  And  when  by  a  certain  act  of  Congress  in 
1781  he  supposed  Vermont  was  to  be  admitted  as  a  State, 
in  honor  of  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis  he  fired  a  salute  of 
fourteen  guns  at  Saratoga,  where  he  was  in  command,  one 
being  for  the  new  State  of  Vermont. 

It  is  true,  however,  when  the  twelve  towns  in  New 
York  and  the  thirty-five  in  New  Hampshire  were  so 


96  Address  of  Mr.  Grout  on  the 

attracted  by  the  constitution  and  government  of  Vermont 
that  they  left  their  allegiance  to  their  respective  States 
and  asked  to  be  annexed  to  the  new  independent  State  of 
Vermont,  STARK,  who  was  then  in  command  at  Albany, 
was  much  troubled  on  account  of  his  Vermont  friends. 
He  could  not  consent  to  the  dismemberment  of  his  own 
State,  and  his  official  position  compelled  him  to  disap 
prove  the  encroachment  upon  New  York.  This  somewhat 
strained  but  did  not  break  the  friendly  tie  that  bound  him 
to  Vermont. 

When  he  supposed  Vermont  was  admitted  as  a  State,  he 
wrote  Governor  Chittenden  as  follows: 

ALBANY,  August  27,   1781. 

MY  DEAR  SIR:  I  only  waited  the  prudent  and  happy  determi 
nation  of  Congress  to  congratulate  you  upon  the  interesting  and 
important  decision  in  your  favor.  Be  assured,  sir,  that  no  inter 
vening  circumstance  on  the  grand  political  system  of  America 
since  the  war  began  has  given  me  more  real  pleasure  than  to  hear 
of  your  acceptance  into  the  Union — a  measure  that  1  do  now  and 
always  did  think  was  highly  compatible  with  the  real  interest  of 
the  country.  It  is  with  difficulty  I  can  determine  in  my  own  mind 
why  it  has  been  postponed  to  this  late  hour;  but  perhaps  Congress 
had  motives  that  we  aie  strangers  to.  The  best  and  wisest  mortals 
are  liable  to  err. 

I  am  very  happy  to  acquaint  you  that  the  people  in  this  city 
show  very  much  of  the  highest  solicitude  upon  the  matter,  fully 
convinced  that  to  be  separate  will  be  more  for  the  interest  ©f  both 

States  than  to  be  united. 

#  #  #  #  #  #  * 

To  have  been  connected  with  New  Hampshire  is  what  many  in 
the  State  would  have  been  very  sorry  for,  as  very  inconvenient  and 
expensive  for  both  bodies  of  people,  and  no  real  good  resulting 
from  such  connection.  Therefore,  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  every 
man  who  consulted  the  public  interest  must  be  an  advocate  for  sep 
aration;  for  had  they  been  connected  there  would  have  ever  been 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  97 

a  jealousy  between  the  two  States  which  would  have  been  infallibly 
dangerous  to  both.  But  that  jealousy,  by  the  separation,  must 
entirely  subside,  and  New  Hampshire  and  Vermont  live  in  perfect 
friendship  as  sister  States. 

That  Vermont  in  its  government  may  be  happy  and  a  stranger  to 
internal  jars  is  the  ardent  wish,  my  dear  sir,  of  your  most  obedient 
servant, 

JOHN  STARK. 

To  Governor  CHITTENDEN. 

The  action  of  Congress  referred  to  by  STARK  was  for  the 
appointment  of  a  commission,  which  Vermont  had  reasons 
for  believing  would  divide  the  State  along  the  mountain 
range  between  New  York  and  New  Hampshire,  and  she 
promptly  rejected  the  Congressional  plan,  refusing  in  a 
most  spirited  manner  to  accept  anything  short  of  uncondi 
tional  admission. 

This  was  in  1781,  and  STARK  wondered  why  admission 
"had  been  postponed  to  that  late  hour."  Vermont  was 
not  admitted  till  1791,  ten  years  thereafter;  ten  years  of 
struggling  and  waiting,  of  diplomacy  and  war,  of  border 
raids  and  internal  tumults,  the  whole  story  of  which  would 
read  more  like  romance  than  a  plain  recital  of  actual  facts. 
Bui:  this  is  aside. 

New  Hampshire  is  fortunate  in  the  selection  of  charac 
ters  for  Statuary  Hall.  STARK  and  WEBSTER  are  great 
names  in  the  Granite  State,  great  throughout  the  country, 
and  great  with  all  English-speaking  peoples. 

Vermont  congratulates  New  Hampshire,  and  welcomes 
these  her  sons  in  commemorative  marble  to  the  com 
panionship  of  the  great  in  marble  and  bronze  from  other 
States.  The  hero  of  Ticonderoga  from  Vermont  welcomes 
the  hero  of  Bennington  from  New  Hampshire.  There  let 
7  s — w 


98  Address  of  Mr.  Groiit  on  the 

them  stand,  typical  soldiers  of  typical  States,  contempo 
raries  in  life  and  in  the  sculptured  renown  of  aeath.  The 
eminent  lawyer,  jurist,  and  statesman,  Jacob  Collamer,  who 
came  nearer  making  good  the  place  of  WEBSTER  in  the 
Senate  than  any  other  man  of  his  time,  now  welcomes  that 
great  lawyer,  orator,  and  statesman  to  that  silent  illustri 
ous  assemblage. 

Vermont  will  always  welcome  these  men  ;  for  STARK 
was  with  her  in  war  and  WEBSTER  counseled  her  in  peace, 
his  words  still  ringing  throughout  the  State  from  the 
summit  of  the  Green  Mountains,  where,  standing  beside  a 
log  cabin  in  1(840,  near  the  place  where  STARK  crossed  on 
his  way  to  Bennington,  he  spoke,  making  clear  then,  as 
always,  the  points  of  a  political  faith  in  which  Vermont  is 
as  steadfast  as  her  heavenly  neighbor,  the  North  Star,  and 
her  light  equally  constant. 

Yes,  Vermont,  in  common  with  all  the  States  of  this 
now  "glorious  Union,"  welcomes  the  return  of  DANIEL 
WEBSTER  to  the  Capitol,  and  there  in  yonder  hall  let  him 
forever  stand  amid  the  undying  echoes  of  those  mighty 
words  which  have  not  only  made  his  name  immortal,  but. 
which  have  been  burned  into  the  very  hearts  of  the  Ameri 
can  people  by  the  fires  of  civil  war,  "Liberty  and  Union, 
now  and  forever,  one  and  inseparable." 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  99 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  BLAIR 

Mr.  SPEAKER:  JOHN  STARK  was  the  military  genius  of 
the  Revolutionary  war.  Independent  as  he  was  intrepid, 
and  conscious  that  his  judgment  was  unerring,  impatient 
of  restraint  which  he  knew  to  be  founded  in  error,  and 
irascible  under  ill  treatment  which  touched  his  honor  as  a 
soldier,  he  was  not  always  a  model  of  unquestioning  sub 
ordination,  and  was  better  adapted  to  command  alone  than 
to  serve  under  mediocrity.  But  no  one  can  study  his  personal 
character  and  trace  his  work  without  conceding  that  no 
military  man  of  his  time,  except  George  Washington,  ren 
dered  more  important  service  to  the  cause  of  American 
independence,  and  that  in  purely  martial  achievements  his 
were  the  most  brilliant  of  any  rendered  by  the  officers  of 
the  Continental  army. 

He  was  a  natural  commander  in  chief;  but  the  highest 
capacity  to  command  implies  the  highest  capacity  to  obey, 
and  no  man  ever  served  more  loyally  than  STARK  did  his 
superior  officer.  Yet  such  was  the  strength  of  his  genius 
and  his  boldness,  vigor,  circumspection,  celerity,  skill,  and 
success  in  action  that  in  every  important  battle  or  cam 
paign  in  which  he  was  engaged  he  was  at  the  front  of 
affairs;  and  as  wherever  Macgregor  sat  was  the  head  of  the 
table,  so  wherever  STARK  fought  was  the  head  of  the  army 
and  the  turning  point  of  the  battle. 

Where  he  was,  something  important  was  always  going  on. 
He  spent  his  time  in  doing  decisive  things,  and  so  it  came 
to  pass  that  it  is  hardly  too  much  to  say  that  JOHN  STARK 


100  Address  of  Mr.  Blair  on  the 

was  the  turning  point  of  the  war  for  American  independ- 

• 

ence.  Without  him  Bunker  Hill  would  have  been  a  use 
less  slaughter  and  a  precedent  of  subsequent  defeats  and 
general  demoralization,  instead  of  a  substantial  victory  and 
the  harbinger  of  hope  and  ultimate  success.  Trenton 
would  probably  have  been  a  failure;  Bennington  would 
never  have  been  fought  at  all;  Burgoyne  would  have  made 
good  his  attempted  retreat  and  escape  from  Gates  back  into 
Canada,  and  there  would  have  been  no  surrender  at  Sara 
toga.  Without  Saratoga  there  would  have  been  no  French 
alliance,  no  Yorktown,  no  independence,  110  happy,  free, 
united  America. 

I  shall  not  trespass  upon  the  time  of  the  House  with 
much  of  the  detail  of  the  life  of  this  remarkable  man.  My 
colleague  and  other  gentlemen  will  do  his  fame  more 
ample  justice.  Yet  I  desire  to  sketch  very  briefly  a  few  of 
the  salient  points  in  his  marvelous  career  which  justify 
the  high  eulogiums  which  have  been  pronounced  upon  it 
and  the  action  of  New  Hampshire  in  selecting  him  from 
among  her  many  illustrious  and  gallant  sons  as  the  most 
conspicuous  and  useful  of  all  of  them  who  have  fought  for 
the  independence  and  glory  of  their  country. 

Like  so  many  of  the  great  men  of  America,  Gen.  JOHN 
STARK  was  of  that  wonderful  Scotch-Irish  stock  which 
emigrated  from  the  north  of  Ireland  and  settled  in  several 
of  the  colonies  during  the  early  part  of  the  last  century. 
His  father,  Archibald  Stark,  was  a  graduate  of  the  Uni 
versity  of  Glasgow,  and  brought  with  him  to  the  New 
Hampshire  wilderness  the  energy  of  his  race  and  the  cul 
ture  of  that  renowned  institution.  He  was  one  of  the  first 
settlers  of  Londonderry,  N.  H.,  and  was  one  of  the  leading 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  101 

men  in  that  extraordinary  body  of  emigrants,  who  brought 
with  them  the  best  development  of  civilization  in  common 
life  then  existing  on  earth,  and  whose  descendants  have 
maintained  the  same  relative  position  ever  since ;  have 
spread  through  the  continent,  always  at  the  front  and  mold 
ing  the  development  of  society  by  the  principles  and  abili 
ties  inherited  from  their  ancestors.  It  is  not  too  much  to 
say  of  the  Scotch-Irish  settlement  founded  at  Londonderry 
in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1719  that  no  like  community  has 
exerted  a  greater  influence  upon  the  nation  and  the  world. 
The  whole  people  seemed  to  be  instinct  with  an  elevated 
and  creative  energy,  and  leadership  has  been  the  natural 
function  of  their  descendants  wherever  they  have  been 
found. 

JOHN  STARK  was  born  at  Londonderry,  within  a  few 
miles  of  what  is  now  the  city  of  Manchester — itself  located 
upon  a  part  of  the  territory  covered  by  the  settlement  and 
one  of  its  descendants — in  the  year  1728,  and  died  upon  his 
homestead,  now  in  the  suburbs  of  the  city,  in  the  year 
1822,  almost  ninety-four  years  of  age,  and,  except  General 
Sumter,  the  last  surviving  general  officer  of  the  Revolu 
tionary  war.  He  was  one  of  many  children,  and  was  edu 
cated  by  his  father  so  far  as  their  stern  environment  would 
permit. 

At  the  age  of  sixteen  years,  having  penetrated  the  wil 
derness  as  far  as  where  the  town  of  Rumney,  in  Grafton 
County,  is  now  situated,  with  his  brother  William  and  two 
other  men,  named  Eastman  and  Stinson,  on  a  hunting  ex 
pedition,  he  was  captured  by  the  Indians  and  carried  to 
Canada,  where  he  remained-  nearly  a  year,  learning  thor 
oughly  the  character  of  the  Indians  and  their  methods  ol 
warfare. 


102  Address  Oj  Mr.  Blair  on  the 

The  Indians  also  learned  something  of  STARK.  After 
his  capture,  with  his  own  death  threatened  as  a  conse 
quence,  he  shouted  to  his  companions  to  escape;  when 
forced  to  run  the  gantlet,  he  so  vigorously  belabored  the 
two  lines  of  young  Indian  braves,  whose  business  it  was  to 
castigate  him,  that  they  were  glad  to  get  out  of  his  way; 
when  ordered  to  hoe  their  corn  he  flatly  refused  to  do  the 
work  of  squaws,  cut  up  the  corn,  and  threw  his  hoe  into 
the  river,  and  thereby  won  the  admiration  of  the  chief, 
and  was  treated  as  a  son  during  the  remainder  of  his  cap 
tivity. 

After  his  ransom  and  return  to  Londonderry  his  services 
were  sought  to  aid  in  the  exploration  of  the  northern  part 
of  New  Hampshire  and  Vermont,  along  the  borders  of 
Canada,  which  was  the  bloody  ground  debated  for  nearly  a 
century  between  the  French  and  Indians  on  the  one  side 
and  the  English  settlements  on  the  other.  During  all  this 
time  the  situation  was  little  better  than  one  of  savage  war 
fare.  That  wonderful  frontier  people  were  always  ready 
for  massacre  and  death,  but  generally  preferred  to  take 
time  by  the  forelock,  and  came  off,  as  a  rule,  best  in  the 
perpetual  encounter  with  the  wild  beast,  the  still  wilder 
and  more  savage  Indian — who  too  often  was  inspired  by 
the  vindictive  and  relentless  cruelty  of  civilized  men — 
and  with  nature  herself,  who  in  that  early  day  was  the 
most  stubbornly  hostile  of  them  all. 

Throughout  the  French  and  Indian  war,  which  began 
in  1756  and  ended  in  1763  with  the  subjugation  and  ces 
sion  of  all  the  continental  French  possessions  to  Great 
Britain,  STARK  was  engaged  in  active  service.  He  was  a 
captain  in  the  famous  regiment  of  Rodgers's  rangers.  On 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  103 

several  occasions  he  exhibited  his  superiority  as  a  com 
mander  under  the  most  difficult  circumstances;  more  than 
once  saved  the  army  and  important  positions  by  his  vigi 
lance,  daring,  arid  skill;  became  the  confidant  and  favorite 
of  Lord  Howe,  the  ablest  and  most  beloved  British  officer 
of  his  time,  and  returned  home  at  the  close  of  the  war 
the  real  inferior  of  no  fighting  man  in  America. 

Then  he  married  and  raised  a  family,  which  was  the 
main  business  of  our  fathers,  as,  indeed,  it  is  of  man  in 
all  the  ages.  He  was,  however,  ardently  alive  to  every 
thing  pertaining  to  the  public  welfare;  and  as  the  contest 
for  independence  came  on  there  was  no  more  stanch  and 
determined  patriot  than  JOHN  STARK. 

When  the  embattled  farmers  stood  arrayed  at  Lexington 
and  Concord  "and  fired  the  shot  heard  round  the  world," 
his  ear  caught  the  familiar  sound  of  war,  and,  quitting  his 
sawmill,  he  leaped  upon  his  horse  and  galloped  to  Boston, 
rallying  the  people  on  his  way. 

As  the  aroused  sons  of  liberty  gathered  from  all  New 
England  and  beleaguered  the  city  of  Boston,  where  Gage 
was  with  the  British  army,  three  regiments  of  New  Hamp 
shire  troops  were  organized.  STARK  commanded  one  of 
them  at  Bunker  Hill,  and  here  was  rendered  his  first  great 
service  in  the  Revolutionary  war.  It  is  not  probable  that 
there  was  so  ripe  and  able  an  officer  at  that  moment  on 
either  side  as  JOHN  STARK. 

The  story  of  the  battle  is  a  familiar  one.  The  ardor  of 
the  aroused  Americans  could  not  be  restrained,  but  could 
hardly  be  directed  with  precision  and  good  effect  because  of 
the  lack  of  time  for  that  discipline  and  experience  in  the 
field  which  alone  can  make  an  army. 


104  Address  of  Mr.  Blair  on  the 

Determined  to  drive  the  British  from  Boston,  if  possible, 
and  at  all  events  to  fight,  the  Americans  seized  an  advanced 
position  in  the  night  and  threw  up  a  small  redoubt  on 
Breed's  Hill,  in  Charlestown,  which  was  tolerably  com 
plete  by  noon  of  the  next  day,  the  immortal  lyth  day  of 
June,  1775,  and  filled  with  about  one  thousand  men,  under 
the  command  of  Colonel  Prescott,  of  Massachusetts,  one  of 
the  bravest  of  the  brave  and  a  cool  and  able  officer. 

The  astonished  Gage,  in  command  of  the  English  forces, 
stared  and  held  his  breath  until  the  day  was  well  advanced, 
but  then  determined  at  once  to  dislodge  and  destroy  the 
rash  and  impudent  rebel  horde. 

Three  thousand  of  the  choicest  veterans  of  Europe 
moved  across  the  bay  to  storm  the  redoubt.  The  rear  of 
the  earthwork  was  indefensible,  and  on  the  left  slope  of 
the  hill,  between  it  and  the  water,  there  were  no  defenses, 
nor  was  it  possible  to  prepare  any  of  importance.  There 
STARK  and  his  regiment,  with  gallant  troops  from  other 
States,  took  position  in  the  open  field,  with  no  defense  but 
a  few  rails  covered  with  fresh-mown  hay  to  oppose  the 
charge  of  the  English,  who  sought  to  turn  the  redoubt, 
while  a  part  of  their  forces  moved  directly  up  the  hill  to 
engage  the  garrison. 

Three  times  the  farmers  repulsed  the  veterans,  and  the 
British  dead  in  front  of  the  rail  fence  where  STARK  com 
manded  "lay  thick  as  sheep  in  a  fold,"  when  the  ammu 
nition  of  the  patriots  failed  and  Warren  fell.  Driven  from 
the  redoubt,  its  exhausted  but  still  resolute  defenders, 
under  the  lion-like  Prescott,  were  shot  and  bayoneted  by 
scores,  and  would  have  died  in  their  tracks  or  have  been 
utterly  routed  and  captured  in  a  body  but  for  the  troops 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  105 

who  fought  in  the  open  under  STARK  checking  the  prog 
ress  of  the  victorious  foe.  Finally  they  effected  a  retreat 
across  the  peninsula  upon  the  main  army,  with  a  total  loss 
to  the  Americans  of  one-fourth  that  suffered  by  the  soldiers 
of  King  George.  Bunker  Hill  was  a  victory.  True  that 
the  enemy  captured  the  position,  but  in  their  triumphant 
retreat  the  patriots  carried  off  the  honors  of  war,  and 
STARK  and  his  brave  New  Hampshire  men,  as  they  fell 
back  grimly  from  the  seashore  to  the  continent,  carried 
with  them  the  new-born  independence  of  America  just  de 
livered  on  that  bloody  field.  More  than  half  the  men  who 
fought  at  Bunker  Hill  were  from  my  own  beloved  State! 
What  if  that  battle  had  been  a  rout?  What  would  have 
been  the  result  of  the  Revolutionary  war?  What  would 
have  been  the  fate  of  America  if  New  Hampshire  and 
STARK  had  not  fought  at  Bunker  Hill  ? 

Eighteen  months  later  and  the  scene  of  action  had 
changed  to  the  Middle  States.  Washington  was  on  the 
Delaware  and  hope  was  dead.  But  that  great  chieftain 
would  do  his  duty  still.  The  time  of  the  New  Hampshire 
troops  had  expired,  but  STARK  aroused  them  to  volunteer 
for  six  weeks  more,  so  that  one  last  battle  might  yet  be 
made  for  liberty. 

In  the  council  of  war  STARK  said  to  the  commander  in 
chief:  "If  we  are  ever  to  win  our  independence  \ve  must 
teach  the  army  to  depend  upon  their  firearms  and  their 
courage  ;  their  guns  and  not  their  shovels. ' ' 

Washington  replied  that  he  proposed  to,  and  that  they 
should  have  a  fight.  They  crossed  the  Delaware.  STARK 
led  the  advance  guard  under  Sullivan,  who  commanded 
the  right  wing  of  the  army;  Washington  and  Greene,  the 


106  Address  of  Mr.  Blair  on  the 

left.  The  right  charged  first  into  the  town,  STARK  at  the 
head  of  the  column,  or,  as  Wilkinson  says,  "the  dauntless 
STARK,  who  dealt  death  wherever  he  found  resistance  and 
broke  down  all  opposition  before  him."  Meanwhile  the 
left  wing  had  moved  in  a  more  circuitous  route  and  the 
army  was  soon  reunited  in  the  decisive  victory  of  Trenton. 
Princeton  followed,  STARK  ever  at  the  front,  for  he  never 
was  anywhere  else. 

Once  more  God  had  almost  visibly  interposed  for  us,  and 
the  people  took  courage. 

Medals  of  honor  have  been  awarded  to  brave  men  who 
fought  in  the  late  war  when  their  terms  of  enlistment  were 
over,  but  the  men  of  New  Hampshire  volunteered  in 
masses  when  their  service  was  done,  and  they  were  in  rags, 
without  pay,  and  their  families  suffering  at  home,  to  march 
many  miles  on  frozen  ground  with  bleeding  feet  in  a  cause 
then  so  hopeless  that  it  must  have  seemed  more  like  a  pro 
cession  to  meet  the  doom  of  traitors  than  a  march  to  victory 
in  the  cause  of  freedom. 

Soon  after  his  extraordinary  services  on  the  Delaware 
Colonel  STARK  resigned  his  commission  and  returned  to  his 
home  in  New  Hampshire. 

Congress  had  done  him  a  grave  personal  injustice  in  the 
promotion  of  an  inferior  officer  under  circumstances  which 
inflicted  great  humiliation  upon  his  stern,  proud  spirit. 
He  declared  that  a  man  who  would  not  resent  personal  dis 
honor  was  unworthy  to  mingle  with  soldiers,  and  that  not 
to  resign  would  tend  to  demoralize  the  army.  But  his 
patriotism  was  as  strong  as  ever,  and  he  immediately  fitted 
out  all  of  his  family  and  servants  capable  of  bearing  arms 
and  dispatched  them  to  the  army,  and  warned  the  Congress 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  107 

of  the  dangerous  condition  of  Ticonderoga,  a  warning 
which,  if  heeded,  would  have  arrested  Burgoyne  at  the 
beginning  of  his  campaign  and  saved  the  Continental  army 
from  great  disasters. 

The  legislature  of  his  State  did  not  fail  to  thank  him 
for  the  important  services  he  had  rendered  the  country. 
Burgoyne  was  now  in  full  march  from  Canada,  by  way  of 
Lake  Champlain  and  the  Hudson  River,  to  join  Clinton  at 
Albany  and  separate  the  Eastern  from  the  Middle  and 
Southern  States,  thus  ending  the  war  by  the  easy  subjuga 
tion  of  their  divided  strength.  Ticonderoga  had  fallen; 
the  triumphant  English  and  Hessian  horde  had  crossed  the 
Hudson,  and  neither  Schuyler  nor  Gates  was  able  to  arrest 
the  progress  of  Burgoyne.  There  was  no  more  perilous 
period  during  the  whole  war. 

Vermont,  although  of  the  Union,  was  not  then  in  the 
Union.  Her  gallant  sons,  under  Allen  and  Warner  and 
others,  were  among  the  most  efficient  opponents  of  the 
Crown,  and  this  campaign  of  Burgoyne's  was  an  invasion 
of  their  homes.  New  Hampshire  was  herself  a  frontier 
State  from  the  beginning,  and  the  authorities  of  Vermont 
cried  aloud  to  their  New  Hampshire  brethren,  being  the 
first  to  feel  what,  if  not  met  at  the  threshold,  would 
become  the  common  distress. 

John  Langdon  was  president  of  the  New  Hampshire 
provincial  assembly,  and  delivered  to  them  what  I  consider 
the  greatest  speech  in  our  history,  except  WEBSTER'S  reply 
to  Hayne: 

I  have  three  thousand  dollars  in  cash.  I  will  sell  my  plate  for 
three  thousand  more.  I  have  seventy  hogsheads  of  Tobago  rum, 
which  I  will  turn  into  money.  We  will  raise  two  regiments  of  men. 
Our  friend  STARK  will  take  command  of  them  and  we  will  drive 
back  Burgoyne. 


108  Address  of  Mr.  Blair  on  the 

In  one  month  the  men  were  raised;  they  had  crossed  the 
mountains;  Vermont  and  Massachusetts  had  contributed 
all  who  could  be  assembled,  and  STARK,  in  command  of 
the  whole  of  them,  refusing  to  act  under  the  orders 
of  Congress,  but,  operating  under  authority  of  the  State 
of  New  Hampshire,  had  fought  the  battle  of  Bennington, 
destroyed  more  than  one  thousand  of  Burgoyne's  best 
troops,  one-sixth  of  his  entire  army,  and  so  weakened  and 
demoralized  him  and  aroused  the  whole  country  that 
further  progress  was  impossible.  This  ended  STARK' s 
contemplated  service,  but  his  country  recognized  at  once 
that  her  true  genius  had  appeared  on  the  scene,  and  Con 
gress  desired  him  to  join  the  main  army  under  Gates. 

But  STARK  did  not  consent,  believing  that  if  he  did  so 
Burgoyne  would  be  allowed  to  escape  to  Canada.  Urged 
by  Langdon  and  his  associates,  he  remained  in  the  field 
under  the  commission  of  his  State,  rallied  an  army  which 
seized  the  fords  of  the  Hudson  just  as  Burgoyne  arrived 
on  the  western  bank  of  the  river  on  his  stealthy  retreat 
to  Canada,  which  he  had  begun  without  the  knowledge  of 
the  unwary  Gates.  Finding  STARK  interposed  between  his 
disheartened  army  and  Canada,  and  more  than  twice  his 
own  numbers  under  Gates  in  front,  the  discomfited  com 
mander  of  His  Majesty's  forces  fought  bravely  but  hopelessly 
and  surrendered  at  Saratoga. 

Then  followed  the  French  alliance  and  several  years  of 
indecisive  war,  which  the  united  strength  of  both  nations 
was  not  able  to  bring  to  a  successful  result  until  the  Tri 
color  and  the  Stars  and  Stripes  finally  triumphed  together 
at  Yorktown  in  1781. 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  109 

For  his  transcendent  services  at  Bennington  Congress 
was  not  slow  to  thank  the  true  hero  of  that  occasion  and  of 
the  whole  campaign  of  1777,  and  to  redress  the  injustice 
done  him  after  the  battle  of  Trenton,  by  forwarding  to  him 
a  general's  commission  in  the  Continental  army. 

On  at  least  three  vital  occasions  during  the  Revolution 
ary  war  the  services  of  Gen.  JOHN  STARK  were  most  con 
spicuously  important. 

Whoever  studies  the  campaigns  by  which  our  independ 
ence  was  achieved  will  thank  God  for  JOHN  STARK  at 
Bunker  Hill,  at  Trenton,  at  Bennington,  and  the  whole 
campaign  against  Burgoyne.  So  far  as  the  agency  of  one 
man  can  be  essential  in  working  out  the  purposes  of  Provi 
dence,  it  must  be  conceded  that  in  all  these  great  affairs  he 
was  plainly  that  one  man. 

Let  anyone  answer  hopefully  who  can  the  question,  What 
would  have  been  the  fate  of  America  if  JOHN  STARK  had 
not  fought  at  Bunker  Hill,  at  Trenton,  and  at  Bennington? 
Doubtless  America  would  at  some  time  have  been  free,  but 
through  what  years  of  additional  blood  and  suffering  we 
might  have  attained  to  the  promised  land  is  beyond  mor 
tal  ken. 

After  the  campaign  of  1777,  General  STARK  served  prin 
cipally  in  the  department  of  the  north,  in  charge  of  that 
portion  of  the  Union  which  he  had  done  so  much  to  free 
from  the  Briton,  the  Canadian,  and  the  Indian.  I  can 
not  take  more  of  the  time  of  the  House  to  enlarge  upon 
his  illustrious  career.  After  the  war  he  lived  on  his  farm, 
now  within  the  corporate  limits  of  Manchester,  the  city 
where  I  have  the  honor  to  reside,  a  city  which  reveres  his 
memory  and  is  now  engaged  in  a  great  effort,  to  which  she 


110  Address  of  Mr.  Blair  on  the 

would  gladly  give  national  proportions,  to  erect  a  suitable 
monument  over  his  grave. 

This  monument  will  rise  on  a  conspicuous  spot  in  that 
happy  valley  where  the  eyes  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
our  countrymen  and  of  all  countrymen  of  civilized  lands, 
as  they  hurry  through  that  great  avenue  of  travelers,  now 
annually  behold  the  Stars  and  Stripes  waving  in  the 
heavens  to  mark  the  last  resting  place  of  him  who  has  had 
no  superior  in  exalted  patriotism  or  in  native  genius  lor 
war  among  all  the  great  men  born  upon  our  soil. 

It  has  been  deemed  fitting  by  New  Hampshire,  who 
has  not  forgotten  the  importance  of  his  perpetual  presence 
in  the  grounds  of  her  own  capital,  that  his  statue  should 
be  placed  among  those  of  the  immortals  in  yonder  Hall. 
I  close  with  the  sentiment  which  Gen.  JOHN  STARK  gave 
to  the  committee  which  sought  his  presence  at  the  celebra 
tion  of  the  battle  of  Bennington  not  long  before  his  death: 

Stand  by  the  flag  of  your  country;  live  free  or  die! 

Air.  Speaker,  in  accordance  with  the  will  of  the  State 
of  New  Hampshire,  expressed  through  Governor  John  B. 
Smith,  her  distinguished  executive,  the  statue  of  JOHN 
STARK  is  now  presented  to  the  country.  I  have  the  honor 
to  move  the  adoption  of  the  resolutions. 

MESSAGE  FROM  THE  SENATE. 

A  message  from  the  Senate,  by  Mr.  PLATT,  one  of  its 
clerks,  announced  that  the  Senate  had  passed  the  following 
resolutions;  in  which  the  concurrence  of  the  House  was 
requested: 

Resolved  by  the  Senate  (the  House  of  Representatives  concurring]^ 
That  the  thanks  of  Congress  be  given  to  the  people  of  New  Hamp 
shire  for  the  statue  of  JOHN  STARK.,  illustrious  for  military  services, 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  John  Stark.  Ill 

being  especially  distinguished  at  Bunker   Hill  and  as  the  victorious 
commander  at  Bennington. 

Resolved,  That  the  statue  be  accepted  and  placed  in  the  National 
Statuary  Hall,  and  that  a  copy  of  these  resolutions,  signed  by  the 
presiding  officers  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives, 
he  forwarded  to  his  excellency  the  governor  of  the  State  of  New 
Hampshire. 

The  SPEAKER.  If  there  be  no  objection,  these  Senate 
resolutions  will  be  substituted  for  those  offered  by  the  gen 
tleman  from  New  Hampshire  [Mr.  BAKER],  and  action  will 
be  taken  upon  them  instead  of  upon  the  House  resolutions. 

There  was  no  objection,  and  it  was  so  ordered. 

The  Senate  resolutions  were  unanimously  concurred  in. 


ACCEPTANCE  OF  THE  STATUE  OE  DANIEL  WEBSTER. 


PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE  SENATE. 


DECEMBER  3,  1894. 

Mr.  CHANDLER  submitted  the  following  resolution;  which 
was  considered  by  unanimous  consent,  and  agreed  to : 

Resolved,  That  the  exercises  in  the  Senate  in  connection  with  the 
reception  from  the  State  of  New  Hampshire,  for  the  National  Gallery 
in  the  Capitol,  of  the  statues  of  JOHN  STARK  and  DANIEL  WEBSTER 
be  made  a  special  order  for  Thursday,  the  2oth  day  of  December. 

DECEMBER  20,  1894. 

Mr.  HOAR.  Mr.  President,  I  send  to  the  Secretary's  desk 
concurrent  resolutions,  for  which  I  ask  present  considera 
tion. 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  The  concurrent  resolutions 
will  be  read. 

The  Secretary  read  the  concurrent  resolutions,  as  follows: 

Resolved  by  the  Senate  (the  House  of  Representatives  concurring], 
That  the  thanks  of  Congress  be  presented  to  the  State  of  New 
Hampshire  for  the  statue  of  DANIEL  WEBSTER,  a  citizen  of  that 
State,  illustrious  for  historic  renown  and  for  distinguished  civic 
service. 

Resolved,  That  the  statue  be  accepted  and  placed  in  the  National 
Statuary  Hall  in  the  Capitol,  and  that  a  copy  of  these  resolutions, 
duly  authenticated,  be  transmitted  to  his  excellency  the  governor  of 
New  Hampshire. 

The  Senate,  by  unanimous  consent,  proceeded  to  con 
sider  the  concurrent  resolutions. 

8  s— w  113 


114  Address  of  Mr.  Chandler  on  the 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  CHANDLER. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT:  New  Hampshire  gives  to  the  National 
Gallery  in  this  Capitol  the  statue  of  her  most  distinguished 
son,  who  was  also  the  greatest  lawyer,  orator,  and  states 
man  of  America. 

Thomas  Webster,  a  Puritan  of  the  English  race,  settled 
at  Hampton,  on  the  New  Hampshire  coast,  about  the  year 
1636,  sixteen  years  after  the  landing  at  Plymouth  and  six 
years  after  the  arrival  of  Governor  Winthrop  at  Salem. 

Descended,  as  is  believed,  from  Thomas  Webster  was 
Ebenezer  Webster,  who  was  born  in  Kingston,  near  Hamp 
ton,  April  22,  1739,  and  in  1763  moved  as  a  pioneer  farmer 
to  the  township  first  called  Bakerstown,  next  Stevenstown, 
and  finally  Salisbury.  His  second  wife  was  Abigail  East 
man,  of  Welsh  descent,  a  resident  of  Salisbury.  Ezekiel 
Webster  was  born  March  n,  1780,  and  on  January  18, 
1782,  DANIEL  WEBSTER  was  born  in  Salisbury,  in  that 
part  which  is  now  Franklin. 

The  Salisbury  line  started  at  the  head  of  the  Great  Falls 
in  the  Pemigewasset  River,  just  above  uthe  crotch"  where 
the  confluence  of  that  stream  with  the  Winnepesaukee 
forms  the  Merrimack,  and  extended  down  the  latter  river 
four  miles  to  a  point  about  fifteen  miles  above  Penacook, 
now  Concord,  and  from  the  Merrimack  the  lines  extended 
west  four  miles  apart  for  a  distance  of  nine  miles  across 
the  hills  between  the  Merrimack  and  the  Blackwater  and 
up  the  eastern  slope  of  Kearsarge  Mountain.  The  Webster 
birthplace  was  a  home  of  dark  and  gloomy  forests,  bleak 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        115 

and  barren  hillsides,  fields  hard  to  cultivate  during  the 
short  summers,  and  covered  deep  with  snow  during  the 
long  and  tedious  winters.  The  father's  first  house  was  a 
log  cabin,  and,  as  the  son  has  told  us  in  a  pathetic  and 
memorable  description,  "when  the  smoke  first  rose  from 
its  rude  chimney  and  curled  over  the  frozen  hills  there  was 
no  similar  evidence  of  a  white  man's  habitation  between  it 
and  the  settlements  on  the  rivers  in  Canada." 

Amid  these  surroundings  DAXIEL  WEBSTER  was  born 
and  came  to  manhood.  It  is  impossible  to  correctly  judge 
of  their  effect  upon  his  character  without  a  careful  contem 
plation  also  of  the  traits  and  opinions  of  his  father. 

Ebenezer  Webster  when  only  eighteen  years  of  age 
served  as  one  of  the  Rodgers  rangers  in  the  French  and 
Indian  war.  In  the  campaign  of  1758  he  went  out  as  a 
private  in  Timothy  Ladd's  company.  Against  Crown 
Point  in  1760  he  served  as  a  sergeant  in  Capt.  Philip  John 
son's  company  in  Goff's  regiment.  He  evidently  became, 
after  his  arrival  and  his  growth  to  man's  estate,  in  the  lit 
tle  frontier  settlement  of  Salisbury,  its  leading  citizen,  and 
as  the  Revolution  approached  he  was  looked  to  by  reason 
of  his  previous  experience  as  a  ranger  to  be  the  foremost 
soldier  of  Salisbury's  company  to  march  to  Boston  after 
the  battle  of  Lexington.  Mr.  Bancroft  says  that  by  the 
23d  of  April,  1775,  two  thousand  men  had  arrived  from 
the  interior  of  New  Hampshire,  sent  "not  to  return  before 
the  work  was  done. ' ' 

May  i,  1775,  Salisbury  voted  "to  raise  fifteen  pounds 
lawful  money  in  order  to  purchase  ammunition  for  a  town 
stock  to  be  kept  in  Salisbury;"  "also  to  choose  a  committee 
of  inspection  in  said  town,"  and  to  make  Capt.  Ebenezer 


11G  Address  of  Mr.  Chandler  on  tiie 

Webster  its  chairman.  On  April  12,  1776,  New  Hamp 
shire's  committee  of  safety  asked  all  the  m^le  citizens  to 
sign  a  declaration  as  follows:  "That  we  will,  to  the 
utmost  of  our  power  and  at  the  risque  of  our  lives  and  for 
tunes,  with  arms,  oppose  the  hostile  proceedings  of  the 
British  fleets  and  armies  against  the  United  American 
Colonies."  Ebenezer  Webster  signed  this  engagement, 
and  as  first  selectman  certified  to  the  committee  the 
names  of  eighty-three  who  had  signed  it  —  every  male 
adult  in  the  town  except  two,  who  withheld  their  sig 
natures  for  reasons  not  unfriendly  to  the  cause  of  the  colo 
nies. 

Ebenezer  Webster  did  not  render  continuous  military 
service  during  the  Revolution,  but  whenever  the  town  fur 
nished  soldiers  for  the  Continental  army  he  was  placed  in 
charge  of  the  work  either  alone  or  with  Capt.  Matthew 
Pettengill,  and  Captain  Webster  on  various  calls  marched 
to  the  armed  conflicts  of  the  Revolutionary  struggle.  In 
1776  he  performed  six  months'  service  in  the  army,  enlist 
ing  a  company,  marching  to  New  York,  and  participating 
in  the  battle  of  White  Plains. 

At  the  battle  of  Bennington,  August  16,  1777,  he  was 
captain  of  a  company  composed  of  sixty-six  men,  forty-two 
of  whom  were  from  Salisbury,  serving  under  General 
STARK.  He  was  ordered  to  find  other  companies  of  two 
hundred  men  who  were  out  on  a  scout,  to  take  charge 
of  the  whole,  and  to  fall  upon  the  enemy  in  the  rear  when 
the  action  should  commence  at  the  front.  When  the 
charge  was  made,  Captain  Webster  was  the  first  to  leap 
the  defenses,  but  his  command  was  driven  back.  Later 
he  was  placed  by  STARK  on  the  left  wing  of  the  army,  and 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        117 

fought  to  the  successful  finish  with  bravery  and  with  credit 
to  himself  and  his  command. 

In  August,  1778,  Captain  Webster,  in  obedience  to  a 
request  from  the  committee  of  safety,  raised  a  company, 
which  he  commanded;  it  was  the  third  in  Colonel  Nichols's 
regiment  of  Whipple's  brigade,  serving  in  the  Rhode  Island 
campaign.  In  1780  he  was  captain  of  the  fourth  company 
in  Colonel  Nichols's  regiment,  raised  for  the  defense  of 
West  Point.  One  of  Captain  Webster's  soldiers,  Stephen 
Bohannon,  who  was  with  him  at  the  time  of  General 
Washington's  discovery  of  the  treason  of  Arnold,  in  Sep 
tember,  1780,  related  the  following  incident  to  Hon. 
George  W.  Nesmith: 

Webster  was  called  to  General  Washington's  tent  and 
commanded  to  guard  it  during  that  night,  and  the  General 
remarked:  "Captain  Webster,  I  believe  I  can  trust  you.''' 

Bohannon  said  that  Washington  did  not  sleep  at  all  that 
night,  but  spent  the  time  either  in  writing  or  walking  in 
his  tent. 

In  1782  Captain  Webster  performed  a  six-months  serv 
ice  in  the  northern  part  of  New  Hampshire.  Most  of  the 
soldiers  in  his  company  resided  in  that  part  of  the  State. 
This  was  known  as  the  "Ranger  service,"  and  was  the 
last  in  which  he  was  engaged. 

"As  an  officer  he  was  beloved  by  his  soldiers,  and  set 
the  good  example  of  always  being  in  front  of  his  men  and 
in  the  thickest  of  the  battle.  He  was  born  to  command; 
of  cool,  steady  nerve,  and  possessing  sound  judgment;  in 
stature  six  feet  tall,  erect,  stately,  and  of  splendid  phy 
sique,  with  a  voice  of  great  compass  and  clearness,  making 
himself  heard  all  along  the  line  and  in  the  thickest  of  the 


118  Address  of  Mr.  Chandler  on  the 

battle;  eyes  black  and  piercing;  a  countenance  open,  frank, 
and  generous,  and  a  complexion  which  '  could  not  be  soiled 
by  powder. ' ' ' 

After  the  close  of  the  war  Ebenezer  Webster  continued 
to  be  engaged  by  his  fellow-citizens  in  public  service.  He 
was  placed  upon  all  the  important  town  committees,  and 
in  1788  was  chosen,  with  Captain  Pettengill,  as  a  delegate 
to  the  convention  at  Concord  for  forming  a  State  constitu 
tion.  In  1794  the  town  voted  to  choose  a  committee  of 
seven  to  engage  "minutemen,"  and  made  as  chairman 


&>~e> 

"Col.  Ebenezer  Webster." 


He  was  chosen  moderator  at  the  second  town  meeting 
in  1769,  and  fifteen  times  thereafter,  the  last  election  being 
in  1803.  In  1769  he  was  also  chosen  selectman,  and  eight 
times  subsequently.  He  was  representative  in  the  legis 
lature  from  Salisbury  in  1780,  1781,  and  1790.  He  also 
was  State  senator  for  five  terms  from  1785  to  1789,  became 
colonel  in  the  militia  in  1784,  and  finally,  about  1791,  a 
county  judge  for  the  county  of  Hillsborough.  He  was  a 
Presidential  elector  when  Washington  was  first  chosen. 

In  1788  Salisbury  sent  Mr.  Webster  as  delegate  to  the 
"convention  which  met  in  February  at  Exeter  "for  the  pur 
pose  of  considering  the  proposed  Constitution,"  and  a  town 
committee  was  "chosen  to  take  the  matter  up  and  instruct 
Colonel  Webster  how  to  act  upon  their  decision. ' '  Most 
of  the  northern  towns  were  against  the  Constitution. 
Public  feeling  was  so  strong  against  it  at  Exeter  that  the 
friends  of  the  measure  found  that  they  must  secure  delay, 
and  the  convention  adjourned  to  meet  at  Concord  in  June, 
1788.  Mr.  Webster  came  home,  discussed  the  subject  with 
his  constituents,  and  obtained  from  them  leave  to  do  as  he 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        119 

thought  proper.     When  the  vote  was  about  to  be  taken  he 
arose  and  said: 

Mr.  President,  I  have  listened  to  the  arguments  for  and  against  the 
Constitution,  and  I  am  convinced  that  such  a  government  as  that 
Constitution  will  establish,  if  adopted — a  government  acting  directly 
on  the  people  of  the  States — is  necessary  for  the  common  defense 
and  general  welfare.  It  is  the  only  government  which  will  enable  us 
to  pay  off  the  national  debt — the  debt  which  we  owe"  for  the  Revolu 
tion,  and  which  we  are  bound  in  honor  to  fully  and  fairly  discharge. 
Besides,  I  have  followed  the  lead  of  Washington  through  seven 
years  of  war,  and  I  have  never  been  misled.  His  name  is  sub 
scribed  to  this  Constitution;  he  will  not  mislead  us  now;  I  shall 
vote  for  its  adoption. 

The  junior  Senator  from  Massachusetts  [Mr.  Lodge], 
in  his  attractive,  discriminating,  and  just  biography  of 
DANIEL  WEBSTER,  in  the  American  Statesman  series, 
vividly  describes  Ebenezer  Webster: 

There  were  splendid  sources  of  strength  in  this  man,  the  outcome 
of  such  a  race,  from  which  his  children  could  draw.  He  had  an 
imposing  bodily  presence  and  appearance.  He  had  courage,  en 
ergy,  and  tenacity  all  in  high  degree.  He  was  businesslike,  a  man 
of  few  words,  determined,  and  efficient.  He  had  a  great  capacity 
for  affection  and  self-sacrifice,  noble  aspirations,  a  vigorous  mind, 
and  above  all  a  strong,  pure  character,  which  invited  trust.  Force 
of  will,  force  of  mind,  force  of  character — these  were  the  three  pre 
dominant  qualities  in  Ebenezer  Webster.  His  life  forms  the  neces 
sary  introduction  to  that  of  his  celebrated  son,  and  it  is  well  worth 
study,  because  we  can  learn  from  it  how  much  that  son  got  from  a 
father  so  finely  endowed,  and  how  far  he  profited  by  such  a  rich  in 
heritance. 

Such  was  the  father  of  DANIEL  WEBSTER.  The  mother 
must  not  be  forgotten  by  those  Americans  who  are  grateful 
for  the  patriotic  achievements  of  the  son.  Little  is  recorded 
of  Abigail  Eastman  Webster  in  authentic  narrative,  but 


120  Address  of  Air.  Chandler  on  the 

the  mental  traits  of  her  sons  Ezekiel  and  Daniel  must  have 

(^ 

been  largely  inherited  from  her  or  were  due  to  her  early 
training,  and  surely  their  development  was  made  possible 
only  by  the  sufferings  and  sacrifices  through  severe  toil  and 
in  grinding  poverty  which  she  welcomed  and  endured 
equally  with  her  husband,  if  not  even  more  fully  than  he 
did,  in  order  to  give  opportunity  for  the  growth  and  frui 
tion  of  those  marvelous  talents  which  not  too  fondly  nor 
mistakenly  they  believed  they  saw  in  the  sons  they  loved 
with  such  intense  devotion. 

Mr.  Edward  Everett  says:  "Like  the  mothers  of  so 
many  men  of  eminence,  she  was  a  woman  of  more  than 
ordinary  intellect,  and  possessed  a  force  of  character  which 
was  felt  throughout  the  humble  circle  in  which  she  moved. 
She  was  proud  of  her  sons,  and  ambitious  that  they  should 
excel.  Her  anticipations  went  beyond  the  narrow  sphere 
in  which  their  lot  seemed  to  be  cast,  and  the  distinction 
attained  by  both,  and  especially  by  the  younger,  may  well 
be  traced  in  part  to  her  early  promptings  and  judicious 
guidance. ' ' 

Sustained  and  urged  forward  by  such  parents,  DAXIEI* 
WEBSTER  studied  in  the  district  school  at  Salisbury  under 
Masters.  Thomas  Chase  and  James  Tappan,  and  in  1796, 
beginning  in  May,  at  the  Phillips  Exeter  Academy,  under 
Principal  Benjamin  Abbott  and  Ushers  Nicholas  Emery 
and  Joseph  Stevens  Buckminster  for  nine  months,  and 
next,  from  February  to  August,  1797,  under  the  charge  of 
Rev.  Samuel  Wood,  at  Boscawen.  While  taking  him  to 
Mr.  Wood  his  father  confided  to  him  his  intention  to  send 
him  to  college  ;  and  the  son  says  in  his  autobiography  :  UI 
remember  the  very  hill  which  we  were  ascending,  through 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        121 

deep  snow,  in  a  New  England  sleigh,  when  my  father  made 
known  his  purpose  to  me.  I  could  not  speak.  How  could 
he,  I  thought,  with  so  large  a  family  and  in  such  narrow 
circumstances,  think  of  incurring  so  great  an  expense  for 
me?  A  warm  glow  ran  all  over  me,  and  I  laid  my  head  on 
my  father's  shoulder  and  wept." 

Completing  his  studies  with  Mr.  Wood,  he  entered  Dart 
mouth  College  in  August,  1797.  Reflecting,  while  enjoy 
ing  his  advantages,  that  he  alone  was  profiting  by  the  self- 
denial  of  his  family,  while  his  brother  Ezekiel,  whose 
talents  he  admired,  was  deprived  of  the  opportunity  of 
higher  education,  he  determined  that  the  brother  also 
should  come  to  the  college,  and  he  argued  the  case  to  his 
father.  He  records  the  reply:  "He  said  at  once  he  lived 
but  for  his  children;  that  he  had  but  little,  and  011  that 
little  he  put  no  value,  except  so  far  as  it  might  be  useful 
to  them;  that  to  carry  us  both  through  college  would  take 
all  he  was  worth;  that  for  himself  he  was  willing  to  run 
the  risk,  but  that  this  was  a  serious  matter  to  our  mother 
and  two  unmarried  sisters;  that  we  must  settle  the  matter 
with  them,  and  if  their  consent  was  obtained  he  would 
trust  to  Providence  and  get  along  as  well  as  he  could." 
The  father  laid  the  case  before  the  mother.  "The  farm  is 
already  mortgaged,  and  if  we  send  Ezekiel  to  college  it 
will  take  all  we  have;  but  the  boys  think  they  can  take 
care  of  us,"  he  said.  It  did  not  take  the  strong-hearted, 
sagacious  woman  long  to  decide  the  matter.  "We  can 
trust  the  boys.  I  have  lived  long  in  the  world,  and  have 
been  happy  in  my  children.  If  Daniel  and  Ezekiel  will 
promise  to  take  care  of  me  in  my  old  age,  I  will  consent 
to  the  sale  of  all  our  property  at  once,  that  they  may  enjoy 


122  Address  of  Mr.  Chandler  on  the 

with  us  the  benefit  of  what  remains  after  tjie  debts  are 
paid." 

As  a  result  of  this  self-sacrificing  decision  Ezekiel  fitted 
for  college  and  entered  Dartmouth  in  March,  1801.  Each 
boy  struggled  earnestly  to  keep  along  and  finish  his  four- 
years'  course  and  get  his  degree.  DANIEL  paid  his  board 
for  a  year  uby  superintending  a  little  weekly  paper  (called 
the  Dartmouth  Gazette)  and  making  selections  for  it  from 
books  of  literature  and  from  the  contemporary  publica 
tions,"  and  he  was  graduated  in  1801,  shortly  after  Eze 
kiel  entered.  Ezekiel  left  college  in  1803  and  went  to 
Boston  and  taught  a  private  school  for  a  year,  but  re 
turned  and  was  graduated  in  1804,  having  spent  but  three 
years  in  college. 

Immediately  after  graduating,  in  August,  1801,  Mr. 
WEBSTER  began  the  study  of  the  law  in  the  office,  in  Salis 
bury,  of  Thomas  W.  Thompson,  a  lawyer  of  note,  who 
later  became  a  member  of  the  national  House  of  Repre 
sentatives,  and  also  a  Senator  from  June,  1814,  to  March, 
1817.  The  need  of  money  soon  compelled  the  young  law 
student  to  go  to  an  academy  at  Fryeburg,  Me.,  to  teach  at 
a  salary  of  one  dollar  per  day,  where  he  also  did  copying 
as  assistant  to  the  register  of  deeds  at  that  place.  In  Sep 
tember,  1802,  he  returned  to  Salisbury  and  resumed  his 
studies  under  Mr.  Thompson,  and  in  July,  1804,  went  to 
Boston  and  studied  for  six  months  with  Hon.  Christopher 
Gore,  an  eminent  citizen  of  high  culture  and  great  ability, 
who  held  various  public  offices — was  governor  of  Massa 
chusetts,  and  was  also  United  States  Senator  from  May  5, 
1813,  to  June,  1816,  when  he  resigned. 

While  in  Boston  Mr.  WEBSTER  was  asked  to  return  home 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        123 

to  accept  the  office  of  clerk  of  the  court  of  common  pleas 
for  the  county  of  Hillsborough,  which  had  been  offered  to 
him  by  the  judges  out  of  regard  for  his  father,  who  was 
one  of  what  are  called  "side  judges" — men  of  character 
and  ability  appointed  for  certain  service  for  the  county  not 
requiring  knowledge  of  the  law.  By  advice  of  Mr.  Gore 
he  declined  this  office  on  the  ground  that  it  would  sacrifice 
his  professional  prospects,  but  with  many  doubts  of  his  own 
and  on  the  part  of  his  father.  Returning  to  Boston,  in 
March,  1805,  he  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the  court  of 
common  pleas  for  Suffolk  County.  Going  back  to  New 
Hampshire,  he  opened  an  office  in  Boscawen,  the  next  town 
south  of  Salisbury,  so  as  to  be  near  his  father,  who,  how-, 
ever,  died  in  April,  1806,  and  in  September,  1807,  Mr. 
WEBSTER  relinquished  his  office  in  Boscawen  to  his  brother 
Ezekiel  and  removed  to  Portsmouth,  in  accordance  with 
his  original  intention.  He  remained  in  practice  there  nine 
years,  coining  in  contact  and  enjoying  an  intimate  acquaint 
ance  with  those  great  New  Hampshire  lawyers,  Jeremiah 
Smith,  George  Sullivan,  William  Plummer,  Jeremiah 
Mason,  and  Ichabod  Bartlett. 

During  his  residence  in  Portsmouth  he  was  drawn  into 
politics.  It  had  been  the  custom  for  the  most  noted  schol 
ars  at  Dartmouth  College  to  deliver  Fourth  of  July  ad 
dresses.  Mr.  WEBSTER  had  pronounced  such  an  oration 
July  4,  1800,  at  Hanover,  while  a  member  of  the  junior 
class,  which  was  printed.  Mr.  Lodge  says: 

The  boy  WEBSTER  preached  love  of  country,  the  grandeur  of 
American  nationality,  fidelity  to  the  Constitution  as  the  bulwark 
of  nationality,  and  the  necessity  and  the  nobility  of  the  Union  of  the 
States;  and  that  was  the  message  which  the  man  WEBSTER  delivered 


124  Address  of  Mr.  Chandler  on  the 

to  his  fellow-men.  The  enduring  work  which  Mr.  WEBSTER  did  in 
the  world  and  his  meaning  and  influence  in  American  history  are 
all  summed  up  in  the  principles  enunciated  in  that  boyish  speech  at 
Hanover. 

Mr.  Lodge,  in  thus  tracing  to  its  source  the  origin  of 
Mr.  WEBSTER'S  intense  nationality  and  his  fidelity  to  the 
Constitution  as  its  bulwark,  might  well  have  gone  back 
still  further  to  that  speech  of  Ebenezer  Webster  in  the 
convention  at  Exeter,  where  he  said  that  the  new  Govern 
ment  would  be  one  "acting  directly  on  the  people  of  the 
States."  The  father  thus  spoke  in  June,  1788.  In  Feb 
ruary,  1833,  the  son,  in  his  reply  to  Mr.  Calhoun,  charac 
terized  the  Government  as  one  "creating  direct  relations 
between  itself  and  individuals." 

The  following  entry  appears  in  the  history  of  Salisbury: 
"Eighteen  hundred  and  five.  DANIEL  WEBSTER  delivered 
the  Fourth  of  July  oration  to  the  Federalists  at  the  South 
Road,  and  Thomas  Hale  Pettengill  to  the  Democrats,  then 
called  Republicans,  at  the  Centre  Road."  Mr.  WEBSTER 
also  delivered  a  Fourth  of  July  oration  while  he  was  at 
Fryeburg,  which  has  been  printed.  In  1806  he  made  a 
Fourth  of  July  oration  to  the  Federalists  at  Concord.  In 
1808  he  wrote  a  pamphlet  against  the  embargo.  In  1812 
he  delivered  a  Fourth  of  July  address  before  the  Washing 
ton  Benevolent  Society  at  Portsmouth,  which  was  an  argu 
ment  against  the  war;  but  he  insisted  upon  the  necessity  of 
a  better  navy.  This  address  was  followed  by  the  election 
of  Mr.  WEBSTER  as  a  delegate  to  a  mass  convention  held  in 
August,  1812,  in  Rockingham  County,  where  he  drew  the 
report  of  a  committee,  adopted  by  the  convention,  known 
as  the  "Rockingham  Memorial." 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  IVebster.        125 

As  the  result  of  this  political  work,  Mr.  WEBSTER  was 
elected  to  Congress  in  1812,  and  took  his  seat  May  24,  1813, 
and  he  was  once  reelected,  closing  his  New  Hampshire 
period  of  service  on  March  4,  1817. 

On  first  entering  Congress  he  was  placed  upon  the  Com 
mittee  on  Foreign  Relations,  of  which  Mr.  Calhoun  was 
chairman.  He  first  made  a  speech  on  resolutions,  intro 
duced,  by  himself  on  June  10,  1813,  attacking  the  Admin 
istration  for  an  alleged  concealment  of  the  information 
that  France  had  repealed  the  Berlin  and  Milan  decrees 
until  after  the  declaration  of  war  against  England ;  and  the 
resolutions  were  passed.  At  the  next  session  of  Congress 
the  dominant  party  dropped  him  from  the  Committee  on 
Foreign  Relations.  He  spoke  on  several  occasions,  his  " 
principal  speech  being  against  a  bill  to  encourage  enlist 
ments,  which  was  an  attack  upon  the  Administration  in 
connection  with  its  conduct  of  the  war,  and  he  denounced 
the  embargo,  which  was  shortly  thereafter  repealed. 

The  controversy  in  reference  to  a  national  bank  had 
begun,  and  Mr.  WEBSTER  opposed  the  plan,  which  favored 
a  large  capital  and  a  non-specie-paying  bank  under  obliga 
tion  to  make  heavy  loans  to  the  Government,  and  the  bill 
was  defeated  by  the  casting  vote  of  the  Speaker.  The 
vote  was  reconsidered,  the  bill  freed  from  its  objectionable 
features,  and  passed  by  a  large  majority;  but  it  was  vetoed 
by  the  President. 

In  the  Fourteenth  Congress,  beginning  in  December, 
1815,  and  ending  April  30,  1816,  Mr.  WEBSTER  partici 
pated  in  the  debates  upon  the  bank  bill  and  again  opposed 
irredeemable  paper.  He  offered  resolutions  and  spoke  in 
favor  of  requiring  all  Government  dues  to  be  paid  in  coin 


126  Address  of  Mr.  Chandler  on  the 

or  its  equivalent.  His  resolutions  were  adopted.  During 
this  session  Mr.  WEBSTER  was  challenged  to  fight  a  duel, 
by  John  Randolph,  which  challenge  he  declined  in  lan 
guage  which  Mr.  Lodge  says  is  a  u  model  of  dignity  and 
veiled  contempt."  "He  refused  to  admit  Randolph's 
right  to  an  explanation,  alluded  to  that  gentleman's  lack  of 
courtesy  in  the  House,  denied  his  right  to  call  him  out, 
and  wound  up  by  saying  that  he  did  not  feel  bound  to 
risk  his  life  at  anyone's  bidding,  but  should  always  be  pre 
pared  to  repel  in  a  suitable  manner  the  aggression  of  any 
man  who  might  presume  on  his  refusal." 

The  period  of  nine  years  which  have  been  mentioned, 
covering  his  law  practice  at  Portsmouth  and  his  four  years 
in  the  House  of  Representatives,  ended  Mr.  WEBSTER'S 
citizenship  in  New  Hampshire.  He  had  acquired  a  high 
reputation  at  the  bar,  had  been  called  to  try  cases  in 
Boston,  and  had  realized  the  need  of  a  larger  field  of  em 
ployment  and  of  more  ample  remuneration.  He  had  also 
become  known  nationally,  and  seemed  evidently  destined  to 
a  great  career  both  as  a  lawyer  and  a  public  man.  There 
fore,  in  August,  1816,  he  removed  to  Boston.  Thereafter 
his  name  and  fame  belonged  no  more  to  New  Hampshire 
alone,  but  especially  to  Massachusetts,  and  to  the  whole 
country  as  well. 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  these  introductory  remarks  to 
follow  in  detail  Mr.  WEBSTER'S  career  after  he  ceased  to  be 
a  citizen  of  New  Hampshire.  His  official  life  was  mainly 
passed  in  the  national  House  of  Representatives,  in  the 
United  States  Senate,  and  in  the  Cabinet  as  Secretary  of 
State. 

He  was   elected   from    Massachusetts   to    the    House   of 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        127 

Representatives  in  1822,  taking  his  seat  in  December,  1823, 
and  was  twice  reelected.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Massa 
chusetts  constitutional  convention  in  1830.  He  became 
United  States  Senator  March  4,  1827,  an(^  served  till  1841, 
when  he  resigned  to  become  Secretary  of  State  in  President 
Harrison's  Cabinet.  He  continued  in  President  Tyler's 
Cabinet,  but  finally  resigned  in  May,  1843,  anc^  resumed 
the  practice  of  the  law  in  Boston. 

On  March  4,  1845,  ^ie  again  entered  the  Senate,  succeed 
ing  Rufus  Choate,  and  he  once  more  resigned  July  22,  1850, 
to  enter  President  Fillmore's  Cabinet  as  Secretary  of  State, 
where  he  remained  until  his  death  at  Marshfield,  Mass.,  on 
October  24,  1852. 

In  politics  he  was  first  a  Federalist,  afterwards  a  member 
of  the  Whig  party,  and  several  times  a  candidate  in  the 
conventions  of  that  party  for  the  nomination  for  President. 

Mr.  WEBSTER'S  national  fame  as  a  lawyer  began  with  the 
Dartmouth  College  case,  argued  in  the  New  Hampshire 
court  on  May  18,  1817,  and  in  the  United  States  Supreme 
Court  on  March  10,  1818,  which  established  the  doctrine 
that  grants  of  privileges  by  States  to  corporations  give 
vested  rights  not  subject  to  repeal  at  the  will  of  the 
legislature. 

In  the  case  of  Gibbons  and  Ogden,  at  the  February  term, 
1824,  ne  successfully  contended  that  a  grant  by  a  State  of 
an  exclusive  right  of  navigation  in  the  waters  of  the  State 
was  void,  because  an  encroachment  upon  the  right  of  the 
Congress  to  regulate  commerce;  and  in  the  case  of  Ogden 
and  Sanders,  at  the  January  term,  1827,  ^e  argued,  with 
only  partial  success,  that  all  State  insolvent  laws  were 
unconstitutional. 


128  Address  of  Mr.  Chandler  on  the 

In  the  Charles  River  bridge  case,  in  1836,  he  vainly 
sought  to  sustain  the  exclusive  right  of  the*  bridge  com 
pany  against  an  act  of  the  legislature  authorizing  the 
erection  of  Warren  bridge. 

In  the  Girard  will  case,  in  February,  1844,  he  unsuccess 
fully  contended  that  Christianity  was  so  far  the  paramount 
law  of  the  land  that  the  exclusion,  in  founding  a  college, 
of  all  ministers  of  whatever  sect  from  holding  office  and 
from  admission  within  its  walls  was  void. 

In  the  Rhode  Island  case  of  Luther  and  Borden,  on  Jan 
uary  27,  1848,  he  maintained  the  validity  of  the  Govern 
ment  under  the  old  charter  as  against  a  new  constitution 
set  up  by  a  voluntary  convention  of  the  people. 

His  published  address  to  the  jury  for  the  prosecution  on 
the  trial,  in  August,  1830,  of  John  F.  Knapp  for  the  mur 
der,  on  April  7,  1830,  of  Capt.  Joseph  White,  of  Salem,  has 
been  universally  read.  Mr.  Everett  says  that  "the  record 
of  the  causes  ce~lebres  of  no  country  or  age  will  furnish 
either  a  more  thrilling  narrative  or  a  forensic  effort  of 
greater  ability." 

Mr.  WEBSTER'S  renown  as  an  orator  arises  largely  from 
his  Plymouth  oration  of  December  22,  1820,  his  Bunker 
Hill  Monument  orations  of  June  17,  1825,  and  June  17, 
1843,  and  the  Adams  and  Jefferson  oration  of  August  2, 
1826;  but  his  extraordinary  powers  were  also  exhibited  in 
his  other  occasional  addresses,  in  his  legal  arguments,  and 
in  his  speeches  in  the  Senate,  especially  in  his  second 
speech  in  reply  to  Mr.  Hayne. 

Mr.  WEBSTER'S  reputation  as  a  statesman  is  based  upon 
a  series  of  speeches  in  the  Senate  and  at  political  meetings 
and  upon  his  public  acts  as  Secretary  of  State.  The  most 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        1 29 

notable  speeches  were  those  made  in  the  Senate  while 
opposing  nullification  and  maintaining-  that  the  Consti 
tution  is  not  a  compact  between  the  States  from  which 
any  State  may  withdraw  at  its  pleasure,  but  a  national 
charter  proceeding  from  the  people  themselves,  and  only 
to  be  terminated  and  destroyed  by  revolution.  His  re 
marks  on  this  topic  and  in  defense  of  Massachusetts  and 
New  England  from  the  attacks  of  Mr.  Hayne,  of  South 
Carolina,  are  to  be  found  in  the  three  speeches  of  Jan 
uary  20,  January  26,  and  January  27,  1830,  on  Foote's  reso 
lution. 

During  his  career  Mr.  WEBSTER  treated  in  speeches, 
with  great  distinctness,  amplitude,  and  force,  the  following 
subjects:  The  tariff,  internal  improvements,  the  national 
bank,  the  currency,  the  Monroe  doctrine,  the  Texas  ques 
tion  and  the  Mexican  war,  and  slavery  in  all  its  relations, 
ending  with  his  speeches  of  the  7th  of  March,  the  i7th  of 
June,  and  the  I7th  of  July,  1850,  in  favor  of  the  compro 
mise  measures  of  that  year. 

As  Secretary  of  State  his  principal  act  was  the  negotia 
tion  with  Lord  Ashburton  of  the  Treaty  of  Washington,  on 
August  9,  1842,  which  settled  the  controversy  with  Great 
Britain  over  the  northeastern  boundary,  provided  for  the 
extradition  of  fugitives  from  justice,  and  promoted  the 
suppression  of  the  slave  trade  by  a  practical  arrangement 
for  the  mutual  right  of  search  of  the  vessels  of  the  two 
countries.  This  treaty  was  defended  later  in  the  Senate  by 
Mr.  WEBSTER  in  speeches  of  April  6  and  7,  1846.  The 
correspondence  also  disposed  of  the  vexed  question  of  the 
impressment  of  seamen  and  of  the  destruction  of  the  Caro 
line  and  the  arrest  of  McLeod  in  1837,  and  of  the  maritime 
9  s — \v 


130  Address  of  Mr.  Chandler  on  the 

rights   connected  with    the   slave    mutineers   of   the   ship 
Creole,  in  1842. 

Other  correspondence  and  arrangements  adjusted  our 
controversies  with  Mexico  about  certain  American  citizens 
captured  at  Santa  Fe  and  concerning  the  independence  of 
Texas,  and  our  differences  with  Spain  growing  out  of  the 
seizure  of  the  schooner  Amistad  and  her  slaves,  and  secured 
the  independence  of  the  Sandwich  Islands.  The  mission 
to  China  and  the  treaty  with  that  power,  accomplished  by 
the  learned  and  versatile  Caleb  dishing,  were  noted 
achievements.  The  Hulsemann  correspondence  carried  on 
with  the  Austrian  minister  in  vindication  of  the  welcome 
given  by  our  people  to  L,ouis  Kossuth,  the  eloquent  Hun 
garian  patriot  and  refugee,  attracted  world-wide  attention 
and  received  universal  commendation  in  America. 

These  achievements  constitute  the  substantial  basis  of 
Mr.  WEBSTER'S  greatness  and  entitle  his  native  State  of 
New  Hampshire  to  place  his  likeness  in  marble  as  one  of 
her  two  memorial  statues  in  the  National  Gallery  in  this 
Capitol. 

If  it  may  not  be  claimed  that  no  one  has  surpassed  Mr. 
WEBSTER  as  a  lawyer,  there  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt 
that  no  one  has  excelled  him  as  an  orator  or  as  a  states 
man;  and  surely  the  combination  as  a  whole,  in  his  mind 
and  person,  of  the  qualities  tending  to  superiority  in  each 
of  the  three  spheres  of  action — as  a  lawyer,  as  an  orator, 
and  as  a  statesman — marks  him  as  the  greatest  civilian 
of  the  first  hundred  years  of  our  national  existence  under 
our  matchless  Constitution. 

It  is  not,  however,  the  part  of  wisdom,  nor  required  by 
the  demands  of  the  hour — it  would  be,  indeed,  discouraging 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        131 

rather  than  helpful  to  the  rising  generation  of  to-day— 
to  present  the  character  of  Mr.  WEBSTER  as  wholly  per 
fect.  The  great  man  was  not  without  personal  faults,  nor 
did  his  public  acts  escape  severe  criticism.  At  this  dis 
tance  of  time  and  on  this  occasion  any  historic  truth  may 
be  plainly  disclosed  and  considered,  and  any  disapproval 
may  be  expressed  which  may  be  deemed  appropriate  by 
those  who  take  part  in  these  exercises. 

In  his  early  days  in  Congress  Mr.  WEBSTER  strongly 
opposed  a  protective  tariff,  when,  under  the  lead  of  Mr. 
Calhoun,  the  South  sought  by  duties  on  imports  to  develop 
the  home  industries  of  cotton  and  other  manufactures, 
while  New  England  was  agricultural  and  commercial 
merely,  and  largely  engaged  in  the  carrying  trade  upon 
the  ocean. 

Afterwards,  when  New  England  had  bowed  to  the  na 
tional  policy  and  had  invested  her  means  in  manufacturing 
enterprises,  upon  which  her  property  and  wealth  became 
absolutely  dependent,  Mr.  WEBSTER  changed  his  position, 
and  argued  with  great  earnestness  and  force  in  favor  of 
protection  according  to  the  American  system  of  Henry 
Clay.  Here  was  no  moral  question — it  was  economic 
purely;  one  of  expediency,  and  one  whether  there  should 
be  a  broad  or  narrow  construction  of  the  Constitution. 
To-day  there  is  no  serious  controversy  whether  it  was  wise 
and  constitutional  to  enact  the  second  law  of  the  First 
Congress,  passed  on  July  4,  1789,  for  laying  duties  on  im 
ports,  declared  to  be  "for  the  encouragement  and  protec 
tion  of  manufactures. ' ' 

When  the  slavery  question  first  became  dominant  in 
national  politics  Mr.  WEBSTER  was  one  of  its  leading 
opponents  and  committed  himself  most  positively  in  favor 


132  Address  of  Mr.  Chandler  on  the 

of  the  Wilmot  proviso,  demanding  a  prohibition  by  direct 
and  affirmative  national  law  against  the  existence  of  slav 
ery  in  any  of  the  Territories  of  the  Union.  Yet  in  his  yth 
of  March  speech  he  made  a  radical  change,  abandoned  the 
Wilmot  proviso,  and  again,  as  a  follower  of  Mr.  Clay,  sup 
ported  the  compromise  measures  of  1850. 

This  transition  of  Mr.  WEBSTER  occasioned  widespread 
criticism.  Great  bitterness  toward  him  in  public  discussion 
caused  him  infinite  distress  during  the  remaining  two 
years  of  his  life;  and  there  is  still  contention  as  to  the 
motives  of  his  change  and  as  to  the  wisdom  and  patriotism 
of  his  course. 

In  an  address  in  the  Senate  on  February  18,  1889,  upon 
the  reception  from  the  State  of  Michigan  of  the  statue  of 
Lewis  Cass,  also  a  native  of  New  Hampshire,  the  present 
speaker  sought  for  the  reasons  which  led  that  Northern 
statesman  to  be  willing  to  make  so  many  concessions  to 
the  South  and  to  slavery.  The  controlling  motive,  it  may 
fairly  be  claimed,  was  love  of  the  Union  of  these  States 
and  fears  of  its  dissolution.  Now  that  the  Union,  after 
more  than  one  hundred  years  of  national  life  under  the 
Constitution,  has  been  cemented  by  the  blood  of  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  patriotic  citizen  soldiery  in  the  greatest 
war  of  modern  times,  these  fears  of  the  men  of  1850  may 
seem  to  have  been  fanciful  and  needless.  But  they  were 
real  to  them.  The  Union  meant,  as  they  believed,  every 
thing  that  was  dear  to  them  and  to  their  children,  and  they 
were  willing  to  yield  and  to  suffer  much  rather  than  to 
risk  the  doubtful  issue  of  fratricidal  warfare  for  its  main 
tenance. 

That  such  a  motive  influenced  Mr.  WEBSTER  there  can 
be  no  doubt.  Whether  it  was  the  sole  motive  may  be 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        133 

questioned.     Mr.    Lodge,    speaking  of  the   ;th  of   March 
speech,  says: 

It  is  impossible  to  determine,  with  perfect  accuracy,  any  man's 
motives  in  what  he  says  or  does.  They  are  so  complex;  they  are 
so  often  undefined,  even  in  the  mind  of  the  man  himself,  that  no 
one  can  pretend  to  make  an  absolutely  correct  analysis. 

But  whether  the  just  and  impartial  historian  will  con 
clude  that  Mr.  WEBSTER  acted  from  mixed  motives,  his 
eulogists  can  unflinchingly  assert  that  he  was  sincere  in  his 
devotion  to  the  Union.  If  he  had  lived  until  1861,  when 
the  South  and  slavery  began  the  war,  he  would  have 
spoken  uncompromisingly  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
Union  by  force  of  arms,  and  would  have  thrown  all  his 
surviving  energies  and  eloquence  into  the  contest  for  the 
establishment  of  liberty  to  all  men,  without  distinction  of 
color,  as  well  as  the  perpetuation  of  the  Union. 

So  that  it  is  universally  conceded  that  Mr.  WEBSTER'S 
intense  nationality,  which  was  inherited  and  was  strength 
ened  by  the  labors  of  a  lifetime  in  behalf  of  the  American 
Union,  entitles  him  to  the  lasting  gratitude  of  his  coun 
trymen. 

In  centuries  to  come,  if  the  statues  in  the  gallery  escape 
the  leveling  hand  of  time,  and  future  generations  look  upon 
the  likeness  of  WEBSTER  and  ask  who  he  was  and  what  he 
did,  there  shall  come  the  undying  eulogium:  He  was  the 
great  expounder  and  defender  of  the  American  Constitution. 
There  is  no  military  halo  around  his  mighty  head;  no  names 
of  battles  tell  his  fame;  but  he  set  forth  and  explained  in 
living  and  burning  words,  as  no  other  did  or  could,  the 
immortal  principles  of  American  government,  to  defend 
which  navies  were  built,  armies  were  raised,  and  our  great 
military  chieftains  fought,  and  bled,  and  gave  up  their  lives. 


134  Address  of  Mr.  Hoar  on  the 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  HOAR. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT:  There  are  few  faithful  portraits  of 
human  faces  or  faithful  representations  of  human  figures 
which  take  their  place  by  the  side  of  the  ideal  creations  of 
art,  such  as  the  Jove  of  Phidias,  or  the  Apollo  Belvedere, 
or  the  Venus  of  Melos,  as  examples  of  consummate  beauty, 
or  as  expressing  great  moral  qualities,  or  as  types  of  nations 
or  races.  The  face  of  George  Washington,  as  represented 
by  Stuart;  the  portrait  of  the  young  Augustus,  where  in 
the  innocent  face"  of  unstained  youth  appears  already  the 
promise  of  an  imperial  character;  some  Greek  and  Roman 
busts ;  some  representations  of  the  youthful  Napoleon ;  the 
head  of  Alexander  Humboldt;  the  glorious  forehead  of 
Coleridge;  the  lips  of  Julius  Caesar — are  almost  the  only 
examples  that  I  now  recall.  The  figure  and  head  of  DAN 
IEL  WEBSTER  I  think  we  shall  all  agree  to  include  in  the 
same  list. 

No  man  ever  looked  upon  him  and  forgot  him.  His 
stately  personal  presence  was  the  chief  ornament  of  Boston 
and  of  Washington  for  a  generation.  When  he  walked,  a 
stranger,  through  the  streets  of  London,  the  draymen 
turned  to  gaze  after  him  as  he  passed.  Sidney  Smith  said 
of  him,  "He  is  a  cathedral  by  himself;"  and  at  another 
time,  in  homelier  phrase,  "A  steam  engine  in  breeches." 
Carlyle  wrote  to  Emerson  of  him: 

The  tanned  complexion;  that  amorphous  craglike  face;  the  dull 
black  eyes  under  the  precipice  of  brows,  like  dull  anthracite  furnaces 
needing  only  to  be  blown ;  the  mastiff  mouth,  accurately  closed ;  I 
have  not  traced  so  much  of  silent  Berserker  rage  that  I  remember 
of  in  any  man. 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        135 

The  qualities  of  one  of  the  greatest  races  of  men  which 
the  world  has  seen  in  its  greatest  age  and  fullest  develop 
ment  appeared  in  that  majestic  countenance  and  looked  out 
in  the  gaze  of  those  magnificent  eyes.  Command,  courage, 
steadfastness,  intellect,  the  repose  of  conscious  strength, 
the  capacity  for  tenderness  or  for  burning  passion,  are  all 
there. 

Mr.  WEBSTER'S  family,  as  is  the  case  with  very  many  of 
our  eminent  men,  both  living  and  dead,  is  of  Scotch 
origin,  though  they  dwelt  for  some  time  in  England  before 
they  came  to  this  country.  That  element,  whether  it 
came  originally  from  Scotland  itself,  or  indirectly  from 
Ireland  or  England,  has  contributed  some  of  the  best  citi 
zens  to  New  England,  as  to  other  parts  of  the  country. 
The  shrewd  sense,  the  active  intellect,  the  undaunted  per 
severance,  the  indomitable  courage,  the  deep  religious  faith, 
the  tenderness  of  family  affection,  the  stanch  patriotism  for 
which  the  Scotch  are  so  distinguished,  have  never  suffered 
in  the  transplanting.  Wherever  anything  good  is  to  be 
had  or  to  be  done  in  this  country,  you  are  apt  to  find  a 
Scotchman  on  the  front  seat  trying  to  see  if  he  can  get  it 
or  do  it. 

He  touched  New  England  at  every  point.  He  was  born 
a  frontiersman.  He  tells  us  that  when  the  smoke  rose 
from  his  father's  chimney  there  was  no  other  similar  evi 
dence  of  a  white  man's  habitation  between  it  and  the  set 
tlements  on  the -rivers  of  Canada.  He  was  bred  a  farmer. 
He  knew  well  the  history  of  the  growth  of  every  crop,  the 
chemistry  of  the  soil,  the  procession  of  the  seasons.  He 
knew,  too,  the  simple  and  tender  historv  of  the  country 
fireside,  and  what  the  farmer  was  thinking  of  as  he  guided 


136  Address  of  Mr.  Hoar  on  the 

his  plow  in  the  furrow  in  April  or  pitched  the  hay  into  the 

• 

cart  in  midsummer.  He  was  a  fisherman  in  the  mountain 
brooks  and  off  the  shore.  He  never  forgot  his  origin,  and 
he  never  was  ashamed  of  it.  Amid  all  the  care  and  honor 
of  his  great  place  here,  he  was  homesick  for  the  company 
of  his  old  neighbors  and  friends.  Whether  he  stood  in 
Washington  the  unchallenged  prince  and  chief  in  the  Sen 
ate,  or  in  foreign  lands  the  kingliest  man  of  his  time  in 
the  presence  of  kings,  his  heart  was  in  New  England. 
When  the  spring  came  he  heard  far  off  the  fife  bird  and  the 
bobolink  calling  him  to  his  New  Hampshire  mountains,  or 
the  plashing  of  the  waves  on  the  shore  at  Marshfield  allur 
ing  him  with  a  sweeter  than  siren's  voice  to  his  home  by 
the  summer  sea. 

That  Mr.  WEBSTER  was  the  foremost  American  lawyer 
of  his  time,  as  well  in  the  capacity  to  conduct  jury  trials 
as  to  argue  questions  of  law  before  the  full  court,  will  not, 
I  think,  be  seriously  questioned  by  anybody  who  has  read 
the  reports  of  his  legal  arguments,  or  who  has  studied  the 
history  of  his  encounters  before  juries  with  antagonists  like 
Choate  or  Pinkney. 

That  he  was  foremost  in  that  field  which  is  almost  pe 
culiar  to  this  country,  where  the  orator  utters  the  emotions 
of  the  people  on  great  occasions  of  joy  or  sorrow  or  of 
national  pride,  the  reader  of  tlie  orations  at  Plymouth 
Rock  and  on  the  occasion  of  the  foundation  and  comple 
tion  of  the  monument  at  Bunker  Hill,  the  eulogies  on 
Adams  and  Jefferson,  on  Story  and  Mason,  will  not  ques 
tion.  There  has  been  nothing  of  the  kind  to  surpass  them 
or  to  equal  them  since  the  funeral  oration  of  Pericles. 

That  he  was  a  great  diplomatist,  able  to  conduct  difficult 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        137 

negotiations  to  successful  issue  or  to  debate  with  the  repre 
sentatives  of  foreign  Governments  questions  in  dispute 
between  nations,  was  abundantly  shown  in  his  brief  terms 
of  service  in  the  Department  of  State. 

But  the  place  of  his  achievement  and  renown  was  here 
in  the  Senate  Chamber.  He  was  every  inch  a  Senator — an 
American  Senator.  He  needed  no  robe,  no  gilded  chair, 
no  pageant,  no  ceremony,  no  fasces,  no  herald  making 
proclamation,  to  add  to  the  dignity  and  to  the  authority 
with  which  his  majestic  presence,  his  consummate  reason, 
his  weighty  eloquence,  his  lofty  bearing  invested  the  Sen 
atorial  character.  His  statue  will  stand  in  yonder  chamber 
to  be  the  first  object  of  admiration  to  every  visitor  for  cen 
turies  to  come.  But  no  work  of  art  can  do  justice  to  the 
image  of  WEBSTER  which  dwells  in  the  hearts  of  his 
countrymen,  and  there  shall  abide  when  the  walls  of  this 
Capitol  shall  have  crumbled  and  the  columns  of  the  Me 
morial  Hall  shall  lie  prostrate.  That  image  will  abide, 
one  and  inseparable,  with  the  Union  which  he  defended 
and  the  liberty  which  he  loved. 

I  do  not  think  Mr.  WEBSTER'S  style  is  maintained  at  its 
highest  excellence  throughout  his  speeches  as  they  come 
down  to  us  in  print.  The  thought  is  never  tame  or  mean. 
You  never  doubt  that  a  great  mind  is  at  work.  But  it 
often  seems  to  be  working  sluggishly.  The  expression 
sometimes  seems  that  of  a  man  half  asleep.  This  may 
largely  be  due  to  the  imperfection  of  reporting.  His  mas 
terpieces  of  English  are  a  few  passages  where  his  faculties 
seem  to  have  been  at  a  white  heat.  It  is  a  common  mistake 
to  speak  of  Mr.  WEBSTER'S  as  a  nervous  Saxon  style. 
Except  in  a  few  sentences  the  characteristic  of  Mr. 


138  Address  of  Mr.  Hoar  on  the 

WEBSTER'S  style  is  a  somewhat  ponderous  Latinity. 
There  is  more  of  Dr.  Johnson  than  of  Shakespeare  in  it. 
I  think  that  for  his  purposes  he  was  discreet  in  the  choice 
of  a  vehicle  for  his  thoughts,  for  which  the  resouices  of 
that  part  of  our  language  which  is  of  Saxon  origin  would 
often  have  been  inadequate. 

The  Saxon  is  tough,  sinewy,  racy.  It  is  the  fittest 
speech  for  common  life.  It  is  not  without  resources  for 
the  utterance  of  lofty  emotion,  as  witness  many  passages 
in  the  Bible  which  we  know  by  heart.  But  still  there  is 
something  lacking  in  it.  When  the  intellect  would  ex 
press  its  profoundest  meaning,  or  clothe  itself  in  state  or 
splendor,  it  seeks  in  the  Latin  what  it  does  not  find  else 
where.  If  we  were  to  endow  the  animals  with  the  gift  of 
speech,  we  should  give  the  Saxon  to  the  otter,  to  the  fer 
ret,  to  the  bulldog,  and  even  to  the  eagle.  But  I  think  we 
would  need  something  else  for  the  lion.  Indeed,  in  Camp 
bell's  matchless  couplet,  even  in  describing  the  eagle's 
flight,  with  what  a  fine  instinct  he  touches  both  chords. 
The  Saxon  will  do  for  the  swift  flight,  like  a  bullet  to  its 
mark.  But  the  lofty,  unapproachable  solitude  must  be 
described  in  the  majestic  Latin: 

Lo!  the  death-shot  of  foemen  outspeeding  he  rode, 
Companionless,  bearing  destruction  abroad. 

The  Saxon  is  a  safe  tongue  for  persons  who  are  in  danger 
of  spoiling  their  English  style  by  the  use  of  little  pomposi 
ties.  The  attempt  to  give  dignity  to  a  mean  or  common 
thought,  or  to  a  thought  which  should  be  uttered  simply, 
directly,  and  plainly,  by  clothing  it  in  a  certain  affected 
stateliness  of  phrase,  is  the  ruin  of  many  writers  and  of 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        139 

more  speakers.     The  Saxon  is  not  likely  to  be  used  by  a 
writer  who  has  no  thought  at  all. 

But  on  every  occasion  he  knew  how  to  convey  his  weighty 
meaning  to  any  tribunal  he  had  to  address,  whether  court 
or  Senate,  alike  to  the  understanding  of  the  people  and  the 
apprehension  of  any  antagonist.  The  grandeur  of  Mr. 
WEBSTER'S  speech  was  always  mingled  with  moral  ten 
derness  and  beauty.  But  his  passion  is  a  restrained  and 
contained  passion.  He  belonged  to  a  race,  he  spake  to 
auditors  of  a  race,  not  in  the  habit  of  uncovering  the 
springs  of  emotion  to  every  observer.  The  few  incidents 
where  he  gave  way  and  seemed  to  have  lost  command  of 
himself  in  deep  personal  feeling,  as  in  his  Dartmouth  Col 
lege  argument,  are  handed  down  to  us  by  tradition  only. 
He  did  not  prepare  them  beforehand,  and  he  has  left  no 
record  of  them  himself.  There  is  in  all  Mr.  WEBSTER'S 
speeches  the  appearance  of  reserved  power,  of  avoidance  of 
extremes,  which  adds  so  much  to  their  impressiveness. 
Half  his  strength  he  put  not  forth. 

It  was  said  of  him  by  a  great  philosopher  of  New  Eng 
land,  the  only  man  of  his  time  whose  influence  as  a  great 
public  teacher  equaled  his  own: 

His  weight  was  like  the  falling  of  a  planet;  his  discretion  the 
return  of  its  due  and  perfect  curve. 

He  was  not  more  distinguished  from  other  public 
speakers  by  his  severe  reason,  his  sound  sense,  and  his 
lofty  eloquence  than  by  his  moderation  and  restraint.  He 
was  master  of  every  emotion  but  one — love  of  country. 
That  alone  he  allowed  to  obtain  mastery  of  him. 

It  was  hard  for  him  to  argue  the  wrong  side.  His 
genius  was  less  the  genius  of  the  advocate  than  of  the 


140  Address  of  Mr.  Hoar  on  the 

judge.  His  style  was  the  fit  vehicle  for  truth  only.  His 
clear  logic  could  never  be  at  the  command  of  error. 
Calhoun,  in  his  dying  hours,  said,  when  Mr.  WEBSTER'S 
name  was  mentioned  to  him: 

Mr.  WEBSTER  has  as  high  a  standard  of  truth  as  any  statesman  I 
have  met  in  debate.  Convince  him,  and  he  can  not  reply;  he  is 
silenced ;  he  can  not  look  cruth  in  the  face  and  oppose  it  by  argu 
ment.  I  think  that  it  could  be  readily  perceived  when  he  felt  the 
force  of  an  unanswerable  reply. 

It  is  scarcely  too  much  to  say  that  DANIEL  WEBSTER 
first  taught  his  country  her  own  greatness.  There  can 
be  found  no  utterance  of  his,  whether  he  speaks  of  his 
country  or  in  behalf  of  his  country,  which  is  not  in  a 
manner  befitting  a  first-class  power  among  the  nations 
of  the  world.  There  is  no  vanity  or  pettiness  or  boasting. 
There  is  no  deference  or  beseeching  in  his  tone.  The 
contrast  in  this  particular  between  Mr.  WEBSTER'S  state 
papers  and  many  of  those  that  preceded  his  time,  and 
some,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  of  a  time  later  than  his,  is  quite 
marked.  This  lofty  and  dignified  tone  marks  all  his 
speeches  from  his  first  entrance  upon  public  view.  No 
Englishman,  no  Greek,  no  Roman  ever  felt  a  loftier  pride 
in  the  character  of  his  country,  in  his  country's  proudest 
day,  than  DANIEL  WEBSTER  felt  in  his. 

From  the  time  of  his  first  public  speech  which  arrested 
the  attention  of  his  countrymen  until  to-day  his  speeches 
are  the  literature  of  American  nationality.  No  other 
orator  or  statesman  divides  with  him  this  honor.  Mothers 
teach  their  children  the  love  of  country  in  his  words. 
The  schoolboy  knows  them  by  heart.  On  every  patriotic 
anniversary  the  orators  repeat  them.  They  are  inscribed 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        141 

on  the  walls  of  banquet  halls  and  on  triumphal  banners. 
They  will  never  be  forgotten.  They  are  to  the  American 
what  the  Psalms  of  David  were  to  the  Hebrew,  what  the 
songs  of  Burns  are  to  the  Scotchman. 

If  Mr.  WEBSTER  had  died  when  General  Taylor  was 
nominated  for  the  Presidency  in  1848,  he  would  have  gone 
down  in  our  history  as  its  chief  historical  figure,  save 
Washington  and  Lincoln  alone.  The  estimate  in  which 
the  people  of  New  England  would  have  held  him  would, 
I  think,  have  been  accepted  by  the  whole  country,  and 
would  have  scarcely  fallen  short  of  idolatry.  There  would 
have  been  perhaps  a  little  complaint  that  in  his  last  years 
he  had  been  slow  and  unready  in  taking  his  place  as  the 
foremost  leader  and  champion  of  liberty  and  in  marshal 
ing  her  hosts  for  the  great  struggle  for  dominion  over  the 
vast  territory  between  the  Mississippi  and  the  Pacific.  But 
the  judgment  of  the  country  would  have  been  that  such 
hesitation  was  only  the  deliberation  due  to  the  gravity  of 
the  question  and  the  importance  of  his  own  relation  to  it. 

Until  the  yth  of  March,  1850,  he  was  the  oracle  of  New 
England.  His  portrait  was  upon  the  farmers'  walls.  He 
seemed  to  dwell  at  every  fireside,  not  so  much  a  guest  as  at 
home,  in  an  almost  bodily  presence,  mingling  with  every 
discussion  where  the  power,  the  glory,  or  the  authority  of 
the  country  was  in  question.  Before  1850  DANIEL  WEB 
STER  had  never  come  off  defeated  from  any  intellectual  en 
counter  or  lowered  his  spear  before  any  antagonist.  In  the 
strifes  of  party  politics  his  side  had  often  been  defeated. 
But  his  arguments  of  fundamental  questions  had  sunk  deep 
into  the  hearts  and  had  convinced  the  reason  of  the  vast 
majority  of  his  countrymen  of  all  parties. 


142  Address  of  Mr.  Hoar  on  the 

But  in  1850,  for  the  first  time,  he  encountered  quite  an 
other  antagonist.  He  put  himself  in  opposition  to  the 
conscience  of  the  North.  The  voice  of  law,  as  he  inter 
preted  it,  and  the  voice  of  God,  speaking  to  the  individual 
soul,  for  the  first  time  in  our  national  history  seemed  to  be 
in  conflict.  I  suppose  the  time  has  not  yet  come  for  a 
sound  and  dispassionate  judgment  of  Mr.  WEBSTER'S  mo 
tives  in  choosing  his  side.  It  is  possible  that,  like  so  many 
other  and  ordinary  men,  he  hardly  knew  them  himself.  A 
man  conscious  of  great  powers,  the  object  of  a  worship 
amounting  almost  to  idolatry,  not  merely  from  common 
men,  but  from  the  ablest,  wisest,  and  most  illustrious  of  his 
contemporaries,  knowing  well  his  own  fitness  for  the  high 
est  public  service,  and  knowing  also  his  own  purpose  to 
employ  supreme  power,  if  intrusted  with  it,  solely  for  the 
public  advantage,  can  hardly  measure  the  influence  of  am 
bition  as  affecting  his  judgment. 

Mr.  WEBSTER  was  doubtless  sincere  when  he  stated  his 
apprehension  of  a  dissolution  of  the  Union,  and  of  the  vast 
mischief  to  humanity  if  that  dissolution  should  be  accom 
plished.  Subsequent  events  and  calmer  reflection  have 
shown  that  in  this  respect  it  was  he,  and  not  his  opponents, 
who  was  right.  But  no  language  can  fitly  describe  the 
condition  of  mind  with  which  the  report  of  Mr.  WEBSTER'S 
speech  of  the  yth  of  March,  1850,  was  heard.  Nothing 
could  have  resisted  the  dominion  of  DANIEL  WEBSTER 
over  New  England  until  he  provoked  an  encounter  with 
the  inexorable  conscience  of  the  Puritan.  The  shock  of 
amazement,  of  consternation,  and  of  grief  which  went 
through  the  North  has  had  no  parallel  save  that  which 
attended  the  assassination  of  Lincoln.  Is  it  you,  DANIEL 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        143 

WEBSTER,  who  are  giving  us  this  counsel?  Do  you  tell 
us  that  when  the  fugitive  slave  girl  lays  her  suppliant 
hands  on  the  horns  of  the  altar  it  is  our  duty  to  send  her 
back  to  be  scourged,  to  be  outraged,  to  be  denied  the  right 
to  read  her  Bible,  to  be  the  mother  of  a  progeny  on  whom, 
for  countless  generations,  these  things  shall  be  the  common 
and  relentless  doom?  Is  it  you — the  orator  of  Plymouth 
Rock,  of  Bunker  Hill,  defender  of  the  Constitution — fiom 
whose  volcanic  lips  came  those  words  of  molten  lava, 
"Liberty  and  Union,  now  and  forever,  one  and  insep 
arable"?  Has  the  intellect  that  wrought  out  the  massive 
logic  of  the  reply  to  Hayne  descended  to  this  pitiful  argu 
ment?  Do  we — 

Ask  for  this  great  deliverer  now,  and  find  him 
Eyeless  in  Gaza  at  the  mill  with  slaves  ? 

Is  it  slavery  and  Union,  now  and  forever,  one  and  insep 
arable?  Do  you,  who  erected  in  imperishable  granite  the 
eternal  monument  of  Nathan  Dane  among  the  massive 
columns  of  your  great  argument,  tell  us  now  that  natural 
conditions  are  to  determine  the  question  of  slavery,  and 
that  an  ordinance  of  freedom  is  an  affront  to  the  South, 
and  that  we  must  not  reenact  the  law  of  God  ?  Is  the  great 
territory  between  the  Mississippi  and  the  Pacific  to  be  left 
to  its  fate?  Do  you,  who  came  to  the  side  of  Andrew 
Jackson  in  1832,  counsel  that  the  lawful  authority  of  this 
nation  shall  yield  to  the  threats  of  revolution  and  seces 
sion?  Is  it  from  you  that  we  hear  that  there  is  no  higher 
law  ?  Even  if  you  are  right  in  your  interpretation  of  the 
Constitution,  when  did  you  discover  that  it  was  greater 
than  the  law  of  God? 


144  Address  of  Mr.  Hoar  on  the 

Were  not  the  mandates  of  Laud,  which  the  Puritans 
resisted  and  from  which  they  fled,  founded  upon  English 
law?  Was  not  the  revocation  of  the  edict  of  Nantes  from 
the  same  lawful  authority  as  that  which  enacted  it?  Were 
not  the  doings  of  St.  Bartholomew's  eve  by  command  of 
a  lawful  king?  Did  not  the  English  judges  determine  the 
question  of  the  right  to  impose  ship  money  in  the  king's 
favor?  Were  Hampden  and  Russell  mere  traitors  and 
agitators?  Your  doctrine  condemns  in  one  breath  the 
champions  and  the  martyrs  of  English  liberty  and  of 
our  own. 

Mr.  WEBSTER,  for  the  first  time  in  his  life,  failed  to  com 
prehend  the  temper  of  the  people  among  whom  he  was  born 
and  bred.  He  met  this  expostulation  with  arrogance  and 
contempt.  It  was  perhaps  not  unnatural.  He  was  grow 
ing  old.  He  had  been  fed  on  adulation.  He  had  found  no 
antagonists  fit  to  cope  with  him,  or  who  dared  to  cope  with 
him.  He  had  failed — 

Only  when  he  tried 

The  adamant  of  the  righteous  side. 

He  had  an  old  man's  dread  of  a  new  order  of  things. 
He  had  a  not  ungenerous  ambition.  He  was  right  in  his 
estimate  of  public  danger.  His  constitutional  arguments 
remained  unanswered. 

WEBSTER  died  while  the  storm  of  this  mighty  conflict 
was  still  raging.  He  was  disappointed  in  the  hope  that  it 
would  be  given  to  him  to  compose  it.  The  compromises 
which  he  had  hoped  would  settle  forever  the  questions 
growing  out  of  slavery  were  never  observed  by  either  side. 
In  the  national  convention  of  his  own  party,  as  its  candi 
date  for  the  Presidency  in  1852,  out  of  two  hundred  and 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        145 

ninety-three  votes  he  received  but  thirty.  He  counseled 
his  friends  to  cast  their  votes  for  the  candidate  of  the 
Democracy,  and  went  home  to  Marshfield  to  die  prema 
turely,  and — 

Foiled  in  aim  and  hope,  bereaved 

Of  old  friends,  by  the  new  deceived, 

Beside  the  lonely  Northern  sea, 

Where  long  and  low  the  marsh  lands  spread, 

Laid  wearily  down  his  august  head. 

It  would  have  been  fortunate  for  Mr.  WEBSTER'S  hap 
piness  and  for  his  fame  if  he  had  died  before  1850.  But 
what  would  have  been  his  fame  and  what  would  have 
been  his  happiness  if  his  life  could  have  been  spared  till 
1865 !  He  would  have  seen  the  transcendent  issue  on 
which  the  fate  of  the  country  hung  made  up  as  he  had 
framed  it  in  1830.  Union  and  liberty,  the  law  of  man  and 
the  law  of  God,  the  Constitution  and  natural  justice,  the 
august  voice  of  patriotism  and  the  august  voices  of  the 
men  who  settled  the  country  and  of  the  men  who  framed 
the  Constitution  are  all  speaking  on  the  same  side.  He 
would  have  lived  to  see  the  time  for  concession  all  gone 
by;  the  flag  falling  from  Sumter's  walls  caught  as  it  fell  by 
the  splendid  youth  of  1861;  the  armed  hosts  pressing  upon 
the  Capitol  beaten  back,  everything  which  he  had  loved, 
everything  which  he  had  worked  for  in  the  prime  of  his 
years  and  in  the  strength  of  his  manhood,  rallying  upon 
one  side — patriotism,  national  authority,  law,  conscience, 
duty,  all  speaking  together  and  all  speaking  through  his 
lips  and  repeating  his  maxims.  He  would  have  seen  his 
great  arguments  in  the  reply  to  Hayne,  in  the  debates  with 
Calhoun,  inspiring,  guiding,  commanding,  strengthening. 
10  s — w 


146  Address  of  Mr.  Hoar  on  the 

The  judge  in  the  court  is  citing  them.  The^  orator  in  the 
Senate  is  repeating  them.  The  soldier  by  the  camp  fire 
is  meditating  them.  The  Union  cannon  is  shotted  with 
them.  They  are  flashing  from  the  muzzle  of  the  rifle. 
They  are  gleaming  in  the  stroke  of  the  saber.  They  are 
heard  in  the  roar  of  the  artillery.  They  shine  on  the  ad 
vancing  banner.  They  mingle  with  the  shout  of  vic 
tory.  They  conquer  in  the  surrender  of  Appomattox. 
They  abide  forever  and  forever  in  the  returning  reason  of 
an  estranged  section  and  the  returning  loyality  of  a  united 
people!  Oh,  if  he  could  but  have  lived!  If  he  could  but 
have  lived,  how  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen  would  have 
come  back  to  him! 

What  will  be  the  final  verdict  of  mankind  upon  the  last 
three  years  of  the  life  of  DANIEL  WEBSTER  it  would  be 
arrogance  and  presumption  here  to  declare.  But  whether, 
as  many  men  think,  they  will  be  held  to  have  been 
but  another  instance  of  human  frailty,  giving  way  before 
a  supreme  temptation,  to  be  pitied,  to  be  pardoned,  to  be 
forgotten,  or  whether  those  years  will  be  held  to  have  been 
years  of  a  supreme  and  noble  sacrifice  of  self  to  patriotism 
and  for  the  safety  of  the  country,  it  is  too  early,  although 
nearly  half  a  century  has  gone  by,  to  pronounce  with  confi 
dence.  May  none  of  us  in  our  humbler  public  career  be 
subjected  to  such  a  test  or  be  brought  to  the  bar  of  history 
to  receive  its  sentence  after  such  a  trial ! 

The  bitterest  enemy,  the  most  austere  judge,  must  grant 
to  DANIEL  WEBSTER  a  place  with  the  great  intellects  of 
the  world.  He  was  among  the  greatest.  Of  all  the  men 
who  have  rendered  great  services  to  America  and  to  the 
cause  of  constitutional  liberty  there  are  but  two  or  three 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        147 

names  worthy  to  be  placed  by  the  side  of  his.  Of  all  the 
lovers  of  his  country,  no  man  ever  loved  her  with  a  greater 
love.  In  all  the  attributes  of  a  mighty  and  splendid  man 
hood  he  never  had  a  superior  on  earth.  Master  of  English 
speech,  master  of  the  loftiest  emotions  that  stirred  the 
hearts  of  his  countrymen,  comprehending  better  than  any 
other  man  save  Marshall  the  principles  of  her  Constitution, 
he  is  the  one  foremost  figure  in  our  history  between  the 
day  when  Washington  died  and  the  day  when  Lincoln  took 
the  oath  of  office. 


148  Address  of  Mr.  Morgan  on  the 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  MORGAN. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT:  It  is  said  of  DANIEL  WEBSTER  that 
the  last  utterances  of  his  tongue  were,  UI  still  live."  We 
are  here  to-day  for  the  purpose  of  affirming  by  the  actiu  of 
this  august  body  that  he  who  lived  in  this  Chambr,  in 
this  association,  and  under  the  Constitution  of  the  Uited 
States,  with  so  much  renown,  still  lives  in  the  hearts  f  his 
countrymen,  and  particularly  he  lives  in  the  heart,- and 
admiration  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States.  He  lives 
in  such  a  way  that  no  American  regrets  that  he  ever  Ived. 
His  life  was  so  perfectly  rounded  out;  his  spirit  of  devtion 
to  America  and  American  institutions  was  so  thorouii,  so 
irreproachable;  his  love  of  his  country  and  of  the  pople 
of  his  country,  his  respect  for  them,  his  fellowshipwith 
them,  and  his  admiration  of  the  people,  were  so  grec  that 
he  has  not  left  in  their  hearts  a  sting  or  a  feeling  of  isent- 
ment  which  has  survived  the  half  century  of  his  ctive 
life,  or  the  other  half  century  during  which  he  ha-been 
lying  in  his  honored  grave. 

This,  Mr.  President,  in  my  estimation,  is,  after  ai,  the 
highest  achievement  of  American  statesmanship,  thaMThen 
a  man  has  passed  his  life  in  the  public  councils  ad  has 
gone  away,  the  subsequent  generations  of  his  countrmen 
shall  say  of  him,  "He  served  his  country  with  fidelir  and 
without  a  feeling  of  personal  ambition  for  his  own  salta 
tion;  he  devoted  himself  assiduously,  honestly,  ail  sin 
cerely  to  his  duties;  he  followed  his  convictions  amist  all 
clamors  and  all  reproaches  and  against  all  oppositia,  and 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.         \  49 

he^ave  to  his  country  that  sincere  and  noble  service  as  a 
stoesman  which  should  stand  as  a  lesson  to  all  coming 
geerations  of  men,  from  which  they  could  gather  profit 
forthemselves  and  for  their  country,  and  could  forever 
stad  together  as  brethren,  without  reproach  for  any  differ- 
enes  of  opinion  honestly  entertained.  His  life,  his  opin- 
ioB,  his  policies,  and  his  sentiments  were  not  reproachful 
to  >ther  Americans  while  he  lived,  and  his  memory  is  an 
hoorable  treasure  to  America." 

-&ch  was  the  career  of  DANIEL  WEBSTER,  as  I  under- 
stad  it,  as  I  receive  it  from  history,  and  as  I  appreciate 
an<  applaud  it.  I  had  not  the  opportunity  of  knowing 
thi  distinguished  American,  neither  have  I  resided  in 
the  part  of  the  country  where  the  least  incident  of  his  life 
is  treasured  up  as  if  it  were  a  precious  jewel  among  his 
acaaintances,  his  friends,  and  his  constituents.  But  what 
I  rceive  from  the  public  history  of  the  United  States,  of 
whin  his  life  is  an  essential  part,  is  that  which  is  received 
anc1  recorded  in  the  hearts  of  all  Americans — that  there 
wa  no  more  eminent  statesman  than  DANIEL  WEBSTER, 
pesaps  no  abler  lawyer  than  he,  and  certainly  no  man 
wb  was  more  profoundly  determined  in  the  support  of  the 
Costitution  of  the  United  States,  which  rests  with  the  ob- 
ligtion  of  an  oath  upon  every  conscience  that  has  any 
deiing  with  the  Government  in  any  official  relation. 

lie  Senator  from  Massachusetts  [Mr.  Hoar]  has  pointed 
outthe  very  extraordinary  and  tremendous  state  of  agi- 
tatd  feeling  that  occurred  in  New  England  after  Mr. 
WESTER  had  made  his  speech  in  the  Senate  of  the  United 
Stces  on  the  Wilmot  proviso.  Doubtless  his  great  and 
mananimous  and  tender  heart  was  much  disturbed  by  the 


150  Address  of  Mr.  Morgan  on  the 

fact  that  he  had  aroused  the  censures  of  those  who  loved 
him  so  much  and  whom  in  return  he  so  well  loved.  But 
if  I  were  called  to  point  out  in  the  history  of  DANIEL 
WEBSTER  the  most  conspicuous  evidence  of  his  great 
moral  power  and  moral  courage,  it  would  be  that,  follow 
ing  his  own  convictions  and  guided  by  his  own  sense  of 
duty  to  his  country,  he  obeyed  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  rather  than  the  clamor  and  sentiment  of 
those  by  whom  he  was  most  nearly  surrounded  and  was 
most  beloved.  That  I  consider  the  highest  example  that 
he  has  left  in  the  history  of  his  life  of  the  majesty  and 
grandeur  and  nobility  of  his  character. 

I  could  not  point  out  an  incident  in  the  life  of  DANIEL 
WEBSTER  that  would  add  anything  to  what  is  known  by 
his  countrymen  in  respect  of  the  history  of  his  career.  It 
is  not  necessary  that  I  should  do  so.  His  reputation  is 
monumental  in  that  it  stands  conspicuously  up  amongst 
the  loftiest  characters  that  America  has  produced,  and  in 
its  simplicity  and  truth  attracts  the  attention,  the  venera 
tion,  and  the  love  of  all  Americans — yea,  of  all  English- 
speaking  people,  and  of  all  the  people  in  the  world  who 
have  respect  for  our  system  of  constitutional  law  and  free 
institutions. 

I  might  add  that  his  reputation  is  not  only  monumental, 
but  it  is  immortal,  for  immortality  as  we  understand  it  con 
sists  in  the  fact  that  the  memory  of  one  is  carried  on  from 
generation  to  generation  while  this  world  shall  exist,  from 
lip  to  lip  and  from  page  to  page  of  history,  so  that  the 
readers  who  stand  at  the  farthest  imaginable  end  of  this 
great  line  shall  understand  the  character  of  the  man  who 
has  thus  built  for  himself  a  glory  that  is  inextinguishable. 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        151 

That,  after  all,  is  true  immortality,  as  we  understand  it ; 
and  yet  there  is  an  immortality  that  is  given  to  us  which 
is  personal  to  us,  which  concerns  us  and  us  alone,  which 
relates  to  a  different  sphere  of  existence  after  we  have  thrown 
off  this  mortal  coil.  In  that  immortality  his  fame  is  tried 
by  severer  tests  than  we  can  apply  ;  but  I  do  not  doubt  that 
in  that  land  he  is  still  engaged  in  some  noble  employ  and 
is  conscious  of  the  love  of  his  countrymen. 

But  in  respect  of  the  immortality  which  men  create  by 
the  transmission  of  their  belief  in  and  their  veneration  for 
the  character  of  those  who  have  lived  in  this  world 
DANIEL  WEBSTER  has  achieved  immortality,  and  he  yet 
lives.  He  will  live,  Mr.  President,  as  long  as  history 
lives.  Not  an  incident  of  his  life  of  any  importance  will 
have  faded  from  the  memory  of  man  when  the  child  that  is 
born  centuries  hereafter  shall  gaze  upon  him  with  even  a 
clearer  and  more  distinct  vision  than  those  had  who  had 
the  honor  and  privilege  of  living  in  his  presence  in  this 
world.  That  is  true  immortality.  That  he  achieved  this 
great  and  conspicuous  honor  on  the  floor  of  the  Senate 
more  than  elsewhere  in  the  world  is  an  honor  to  this  body 
which  we  should  fully  appreciate  and  always  preserve 
among  our  brightest  recollections  and  our  most  cherished 
traditions. 

As  a  Senator  from  the  South,  I  take  great  pleasure  in 
participating  in  an  occasion  which  has  for  its  purpose  the 
recalling  of  some  of  the  splendors  of  WEBSTER'S  achieve 
ments  and  some  of  his  great  efforts  in  debate  upon  the 
floor  of  this  Chamber.  Whether  New  England  exhausted 
herself  in  the  production  of  WEBSTER,  or  whether  others 
may  come  like  him  hereafter,  it  makes  no  difference.  In 


152  Address  of  Mr.  Morgan  on  the 

WEBSTER  those  older  States  bestowed  upon  America  a 
grand  endowment.  He  has,  as  the  Senator  from  New 
Hampshire  [Mr.  Chandler]  stated,  when  he  left  his  native 
State,  passed  out  into  the  keeping  of  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  and  they  will  not  only  always  cherish  and 
revere  his  memory,  but  they  will  feel  proud  that  they 
belong  to  his  country;  and  Senators  in  this  Chamber  will 
feel  a  just  pride  that  they  are  members  of  that  body 
among  whom  he  labored  so  faithfully  for  this  great  Gov 
ernment. 

The  history  of  two  lives  has  been  presented  to-day  by 
New  Hampshire  for  us  to  think  about  and  to  emulate. 
The  one  was  a  great  general  of  the  Revolutionary  war, 
who  was  amongst  the  redeemers  of  the  people.  With  his 
sword,  his  great  daring, r his  intrepidity,  his  chivalrous  bear 
ing,  with  all  that  belongs  to  the  actual  heroism  of  a  great 
soldier,  that  noble  Revolutionary  general  assisted  in  reliev 
ing  a  people  from  the  thralldom  of  submission  to  a  Govern 
ment  that  had  become  their  persecutor,  their  oppressor. 
The  other  man  was  not  a  redeemer  of  the  people  from 
oppression,  but  he  was  a  teacher,  a  teacher  of  the  Senate 
of  the  United  States,  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States, 
of  foreign  nations,  and  more  particularly  and  more  essen 
tially  of  the  great  body  of  the  people  of  the  United  States. 

He  was  a  great  teacher  as  to  the  form  and  essence  of  this 
Government,  and  of  the  nice  and  delicate  bearings  and 
adjustment  of  all  its  different  parts  in  their  relation  to  each 
other.  He  was  less  a  combatant  for  his  opinions  upon  the 
floor  of  the  Senate  than  he  was  an  instructor  to  all  Sena 
tors,  those  who  opposed  and  those  who  agreed  with  him, 
upon  the  proper  construction  of  the  principles  of  the 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.         153 

Government  under  which  we  live,  and  of  the  Constitution, 
which  is  the  exponent  and  embodiment  of  those  principles. 
Hence  it  was  that  it  has  been  said  here  to-day  that  he  fol 
lowed  the  lead  of  Henry  Clay,  the  great  popular  statesman 
of  the  South  and  West,  and  that  at  times  he  yielded  his  opin 
ions  and  changed  his  position  from  one  attitude  to  another 
as  measures  were  expounded  and  illustrated  by  the  argu 
ments  of  some  other  great  Senator  on  this  floor. 

DANIEL  WEBSTER  did  not  change  his  views  to  meet  any 
man's  opinions,  in  my  judgment,  nor  did  he  follow  Mr. 
Clay  because  of  his  supremacy  in  leadership;  but  he  fol 
lowed  his  own  clear  conscience  and  sound  judgment  in 
respect  of  the  fundamental  law  of  the  United  States,  and 
where  that  led,  it  mattered  not  where  or  into  what  com 
pany,  he  went  willingly  and  with  a  firm  and  brave  step  to 
the  front.  That  is  my  conception  of  him;  that,  above  all 
else,  is  why  I  admire  him;  that  is  why  the  people  whom  I 
represent  here  respect  his  reputation  as  an  honor  to  them, 
although  in  many  respects  his  position  on  public  measures 
seemed  to  be  adverse  to  what  they  considered  as  being  the 
policy  which  would  best  subserve  their  interests. 

Mr.  President,  this  man  is  a  very  peculiar  character  in 
American  history.  He  was  born  in  1782,  seven  years 
before  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  was  adopted. 
WTe  then  had  no  President  of  the  United  States.  That 
office  had  not  been  created.  These  thirteen  States  had 
separate  sovereignty  of  such  an  independent  character  with 
respect  to  each  other  that  they  were  in  every  essential 
sense  foreign  States.  They  were  drawing  together  under 
the  impulse  of  a  necessity  for  forming  a  better,  a  wiser, 
and  a  stronger  government,  but  their  assemblage  was  not 


154  Address  of  Mr.  Morgan  on  the 

by  any  means  a  merely  sentimental  union  of  states.  They 
came  together  dispassionately  and  with  prearrangement 
which  involved  the  discussion  of  every  principle  of  gov 
ernment  which  concerned  the  formation  of  this  great 
Union  under  which  we  are  now  living,  and  this  Constitu 
tion,  which  is  the  supreme  law  not  of  this  land  only  but 
is  the  supreme  law  of  humanity,  and  will  hereafter  become 
the  supreme  law  of  nations. 

WEBSTER  was  seven  years  old  when  that  Constitution 
was  adopted.  He  took  his  degree  and  left  Dartmouth  Col 
lege  in  1801.  At  that  time  there  were  fifteen  States  in  the 
Union;  but  when  he  died,  in  1852,  there  were  thirty-two 
States  in  the  Union.  So  his  life  measured  the  beginning 
and  the  development  of  the  most  wonderful  system  of 
government  which  was  ever  ordained  by  the  wisdom  of 
man,  bringing  greater  growth  and  prosperity  than  has  been 
witnessed  by  any  government  or  people  in  all  the  ages  of 
history. 

In  the  midst  of  all  this  growth  there  was  need  of  men 
like  DANIEL  WEBSTER  and  John  Marshall  for  the  purpose 
of  regulating  and  settling  in  respect  of  this  new  plan  of 
government  those  fine  and  nice  distinctions  in  regard  to 
the  powers  possessed  by  the  United  States  and  the  powers 
possessed  by  the  several  States  which  have  been  so  impor 
tant,  and  are  still  so  important,  in  the  adjustment  of  the 
relations  of  those  States  with  each  other  in  the  Union 
which  we  Senators  represent  here. 

It  was  an  inconceivable  blessing  to  the  American  people 
that  such  a  man  was  found,  with  such  splendid  powers  of 
reasoning  and  oratory,  such  clear  conscience,  such  firm 
resolution,  and  so  just  a  mind,  to  lay  down  in  the  very 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        155 

beginning,  as  with  the  prescience  of  prophecy,  and  to  adjust 
to  the  narrowest  and  nicest  lines  the  principles  upon  which 
these  different  great  organizations  and  sovereign  States 
could  associate  with  each  other  without  friction  and 
without  danger. 

In  that  direction  he  accomplished  as  much  as  any  other 
American  statesman,  and  in  doing  that  work  he  has  con 
ferred  upon  us  a  blessing  of  incalculable  value,  for  which  I 
love  his  name,  reverence  his  memory,  and  would  do  honor 
to  his  glorious  fame. 

Perhaps  DANIEL  WEBSTER  is  entitled  to  a  certain  dis 
tinction  of  being  the  most  American  of  those  statesmen 
who  have  represented  us  in  our  foreign  relations,  not  be 
cause  he  felt  any  more  sensibly  or  was  any  more  firmly 
convinced  of  the  proud  attitude  which  we  had  a  right  to 
occupy  among  the  nations  of  this  earth  than  others  were, 
but  because  his  great  resolution  and  his  massive  powers, 
when  they  were  brought  into  action  upon  questions  of  a 
diplomatic  kind  with  other  governments,  moved  directly 
and  without  hesitancy  to  the  American  interpretation  of 
those  questions,  and  he  never  halted  in  his  march  until  he 
achieved  glory  for  his  country  and  security  for  her  institu 
tions  and  her  rights. 

No  man  has  excelled  him  in  the  State  Department  in,  the 
strong  and  earnest  presentation  of  the  American  view  of  all 
questions  which  concern  our  relations  with  foreign  govern 
ments,  and  no  man  ever  had  a  more  difficult  task  than  to 
adjust,  I  might  say,  the  limited  powers  of  the  Government 
of  the  United  States  and  its  peculiar  organization,  through 
the  relations  we  hold  with  other  powers,  to  their  peculiari 
ties  and  with  their  methods  of  conducting  diplomatic 


156  Address  of  Mr.   Morgan  on  tJic 

affairs.  Perhaps  the  McLeod  case  presents^  the  most  per 
fect  illustration  of  that  situation,  and  shows  as  distinctly 
as  anything  else  that  this  great  statesman  ever  did  how 
well  he  understood  the  duties  of  the  Federal  Government 
toward  the  American  States  and  toward  foreign  countries. 
Mr.  President,  I  have  not  attempted  in  what  I  have  said 
to  eulogize  DANIEL  WEBSTER.  I  do  not  aspire  to  the 
ability  to  pronounce  a  eulogy  upon  him.  If  I  have  con 
veyed  to  this  Senate  some  idea  of  the  high  appreciation  in 
which  I  hold  this  great  character,  this  splendid  man,  that 
is  all  I  desired  to  do.  I  expect  to  place  no  additional  crown 
of  honor  upon  his  brow,  or  to  add  a  thought  which  could 
give  greater  majesty  to  his  character  or  make  his  memory 
sweeter  among  the  American  people. 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.       157 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  MORRILL. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT:  My  remarks  on  this  occasion  will  be 
brief,  and  perhaps  I  should  not  have  spoken  at  all  but  for 
my  abiding  interest  in  the  progressive  enrichment  of  the 
National  Statuary  Hall. 

New  Hampshire  must  be  heartily  congratulated  upon  her 
admirable  selection  of  the  historic  characters  she  has 
chosen  to  commemorate.  The  Granite  State  justly  claims 
much  in  presenting  WEBSTER  and  STARK  as  her  sons,  but 
they  will  be  greeted  with  equal  homage  and  affection  by  the 
whole  nation. 

A  Boston  critic  once  stated  that  "the  principal  wealth 
of  New  Hampshire  is  great  men  and  water  power;  but 
instead  of  keeping  them  herself  she  squanders  them  on 
Massachusetts,  and  WEBSTER  was  one  of  those  free  gifts." 
The  critic  should  have  added  that  no  State  can  better 
afford  to  permit  another  State  to  replevy  what  rightly 
belongs  to  it  than  Massachusetts. 

The  number  of  American  statesmen  and  heroes  already 
represented  in  that  superb  and  venerated  Hall,  with  the 
long  list  of  worthies  sure  to  find  a  place  there,  but  still  held 
in  reserve  by  States  embarrassed  by  too  large  a  number 
entitled  to  selection,  or  by  worthies  not  yet  fully  ripe,  are 
sufficient  to  give  abundant  assurance  that  this  large  assem 
blage  of  statues  will  be  of  unrivaled  public  interest,  a  dis 
tinctive  honor  to  the  several  States,  and  wholly  worthy  of 
the  Republic. 

The  majestic  form  of  DANIEL  WEBSTER  has  been  so  fre 
quently  presented  in  bronze  and  marble,  and  his  life  and 


158  Address  of  Mr.  Morrill  on  the 

character  so  often  portrayed  by  those  who  best  knew  his 
intellectual  endowments,  and  were  best  qualified  to  appre 
ciate  him  as  a  lawyer  and  as  an  orator,  or  as  a  statesman 
ancf  Cabinet  minister,  that  for  me  it  is  a  dubious  task  to 
add  a  word  to  what  has  been  more  fitly  spoken  long-  ago, 
or  that  will  be  by  others  here  to-day. 

Probably  only  a  small  number  of  those  present  to-day 
ever  saw  or  heard  Mr.  WEBSTER  speak  in  either  branch  of 
Congress;  but  no  man  who  ever  looked  upon  him  would 
fail  to  discover  that  he  was  a  man  of  no  common  mold, 
and  it  would  be  safe  to  say  that  in  the  presence  of  any 
"sea  of  upturned  faces"  of  Americans  his  intellectual 
primacy  would  not  be  contested. 

It  was  my  fortune  to  listen  to  a  political  speech  of  Mr. 
WEBSTER  in  1840,  at  Baltimore,  the  same  year  at  Orford, 
N.  H.,  and  years  after  in  Faneuil  Hall.  Again,  being  in 
Boston,  and  learning  that  an  important  patent  case  was  to 
be  on  trial  in  the  United  States  district  court,  where  Mr. 
Choate  was  the  counsel  on  one  side  and  Mr.  WEBSTER  on 
the  other,  I  lost  no  time  in  securing  a  seat  in  the  court 
house.  Different  in  manner  as  might  be  supposed  that  of 
Achilles  and  Ulysses  would  be,  both  greatly  interested  me, 
as  both  appeared  to  be  exerting  their  utmost  professional 
skill  to  win  the  case.  To  me  the  treat  seemed  worth  a 
journey  across  the  continent. 

I  was  in  Washington  in  1836,  1840,  1848,  and  1852,  and 
of  course  saw  Mr.  WEBSTER,  but  never  heard  him  speak 
at  any  length  in  the  Senate.  I  may,  however,  be  pardoned 
for  mentioning  one  or  two  occurrences  that  came  under  my 
observation  more  than  forty  years  ago,  though  of  little 
importance,  and  will  trench  very  little  upon  your  time. 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.         \  59 

On  one  of  these  early  Washington  visits  I  was  present 
at  an  all-night  session  of  the  Senate  in  the  old  Senate 
Chamber.  As  the  hours  grew  late  all  got  tired,  and  Mr. 
WEBSTER  bent  his  head  over  his  desk,  with  his  face  pil 
lowed  on  his  hands,  while  another  Senator  in  a  rambling 
speech,  and  suddenly  enthused  with  rapturous  admiration 
for  Mr.  WEBSTER,  pronounced  him  "The  statesman! 
the  historian!  the  philosopher!  the  poet!"  when  Mr. 
WEBSTER,  halfway  raising  his  head,  in  a  gruff  voice  ejac 
ulated,  "Enough!  enough!"  Senator  Butler,  of  South 
Carolina,  evidently  thought  so  too,  but  had  some  difficulty 
in  persuading  the  jubilant  member  to  take  his  seat. 

A  day  or  two  in  advance  of  the  meeting  of  the  Whig 
national  convention  in  Baltimore,  in  1852,  to  which  I  was 
a  delegate,  to  nominate  a  Presidential  candidate,  I  visited 
Washington,  and  was  invited,  with  others,  by  Mr.  WEB 
STER,  then  Secretary  of  State,  to  dinner.  As  it  was  not 
my  intention  to  support  Mr.  WEBSTER  in  the  convention, 
the  invitation  was  rather  regretted;  but,  being  told  by  a 
friend  that  such  an  invitation  here  from  the  President  or 
the  Secretary  of  State  was  never  to  be  declined,  it  was 
accepted.  There  were  about  a  dozen  at  the  table,  Mrs. 
Webster  being  the  only  lady.  Mr.  WEBSTER  appeared  in 
his  blue  coat  with  gilt  buttons,  light  buff  vest,  low  shoes, 
and  white  silk  half  hose,  and  led  the  conversation  most 
happily,  whether  grave  or  gay.  Upon  leaving  the  dining- 
room  the  gentlemen  all  returned  to  the  drawing-room,  and 
there  Mr.  WEBSTER  was  so  gracious  and  attractive  in  gen 
eral  and  special  conversation  as  to  quickly  place  everyone 
at  his  ease,  especially  as  he  did  not  even  allude  to  the  com 
ing  convention.  By  way  of  inquiry  as  to  the  preparation 


160  Address  of  Mr.  Morrill  on  the 

of  his  speeches  I  ventured  to  say  I  had  heard  it  stated 
that  among  the  passages  often  quoted  one  had  been  con 
ceived  by  him  many  years  prior  to  utterance,  and  referred 
to  his  picturesque  description  of  the  power  of  England, 
u  Whose  morning  drumbeat,  following  the  sun  and  keep 
ing  company  with  the  hours,  circles  the  earth  with  the 
continuous  and  unbroken  strain  of  the  martial  airs  of 
England." 

He  promptly  replied,  "As  a  mere  fact,  it  is  true  that, 
while  visiting  Quebec  several  years  before  the  speech  of 
1834,  one  morning  I  arose  early,  as  is  my  wont,  and 
walked  out  upon  the  ramparts  of  the  city,  where  I  soon 
heard  the  morning  drumbeat.  It  then  occurred  to  me  that 
this,  a  little  later,  would  be  repeated  at  Montreal,  then  at 
Toronto,  again  in  Columbia,  and  so  on  around  the  world," 
adding,  ' '  Oh,  I  never  pretended  to  be  one  of  the  inspired 
geniuses.  I  bring  forth  nothing  without  labor.  If  not 
precisely  at  the  time,  it  has  cost  labor  at  some  time. ' ' 

When  I  left  his  residence,  then  on  D  street  northwest, 
Mr.  WEBSTER  seemed  to  have  grown  greater  to  me,  and, 
unlike  some  so-called  great  men,  who,  as  you  get  nearer 
to  them,  become  slender,  if  not  mediocre,  he  appeared, 
like  a  Doric  temple,  to  loom  up  more  grandly  the  nearer 
approached. 

The  next  day,  however,  I  did  not  vote  in  his  favor  at 
the  convention,  the  speech  of  March  7,  1850,  being  insur 
mountable;  but  I  ever  felt  glad,  proud,  that  DANIEL 
WEBSTER  was  born,  lived,  and  died  an  American. 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.         161 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  DAVIS. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT:  The  corner  stone  of  the  extension  of 
the  Capitol  was  laid  on  the  4th  day  of  July,  1851,  and 
DANIEL  WEBSTER  was  the  orator  of  the  event.  It  was 
most  appropriate  that  he  who  for  a  generation  had  builded 
upon  the  foundations  of  the  Constitution  such  cyclopean 
architecture  of  intellectual  power  should  speak  the  words 
of  dedication  of  this  marble  pile,  and  the  Constitution 
which  it  symbolizes,  to  the  love  of  the  people  and  the  pro 
tection  of  Almighty  God. 

And  now,  after  the  lapse  of  more  than  forty  years,  the 
mother  State  which  held  him  in  her  granite  cradle  has 
proudly  set  up  in  this  building  the  image  of  her  wondrous 
son.  It  was  not  needed,  yet  it  was  fitting  to  be  done. 
Some  men,  and  of  them  was  WEBSTER,  can  not  be 
expressed  by  monuments.  We  say  of  such  a  man: 

Nothing  can  cover  his  high  fame  but  heaven; 
No  pyramids  set  off  his  memories 
But  the  eternal  substance  of  his  greatness, 
To  which  we  leave  him. 

The  time  of  that  ceremony  was  a  troubled  one.  The 
future  was  black  with  portents.  Compromises  had  been 
repealed,  and  substituted  compromises  were  proving  to  be 
mere  vanishing  makeshifts.  The  earth  was  tremulous 
with  two  vast  agitations.  They  were  conflicting  and 
destructive.  The  North  was  slowly  moving  with  reluctant 
yet  ominous  power.  The  South,  in  possession  of  safe 
guards  which  could  not  save,  knew  this  fact,  and  was  in 
n  s — w 


162  Address  of  Mr.  Dams  on  the 

the  first  throes  of  that  convulsion  which  at  last  opened  the 
chasm  of  disunion  by  war. 

In  the  midst  of  such  agitations  this  was  one  of  WEB 
STER'S  last  public  utterances,  and  in  it  he  pleaded  with 
passionate  earnestness  for  the  supremacy  of  the  Constitu 
tion  and  the  preservation  of  the  Union. 

His  life  had  been  one  long  advocacy  of  these  objects. 
His  devotion  to  them  explains,  if  it  does  not  justify,  every 
position  he  ever  assumed.  From  his  Fourth  of  July  ora 
tion  at  Salisbury  in  1805  until  he  ceased  to  speak  he  stood 
before  the  Constitution  and  the  Union  their  ever-ready 
champion.  He  thought  that  the  Constitution  as  it  was 
could  preserve  the  Union  as  it  was.  Even  after  the  world 
saw  that  this  could  not  be,  millions  of  patriotic  men  looked 
with  loyal  hope  upon  the  mighty  defender  of  a  falling 
cause,  panoplied  with  armor  that  none  but  he  could  bear, 
and  dealing  blows  that  he  alone  could  give. 

It  is  not  strange  that  everything  was  hoped  from  him 
who  had  done  so  much  to  raise  and  strengthen  the  imper 
iled  institutions.  For  constitutions  are  made,  and  then  they 
begin  to  grow.  If  they  are  not  suffered  to  grow,  they  dis 
locate,  disconnect,  and  fall  to  pieces.  No  scheme,  however 
wisely  devised,  that  they  may  contain  for  their  formal  and 
orderly  amendment  can  avoid  this  process.  It  is  the  action 
of  public  necessity,  coercing  and  convincing  the  popular 
thought  and  will,  which  exert  themselves  through  great 
and  chosen  men.  The  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
was  thus  made,  it  thus  grew,  and  DANIEL  WEBSTER  and 
John  Marshall  were  the  great  and  chosen  men  who  mainly 
did  the  work. 

It  can    not   fairly    be  questioned    that    when    the    great 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        163 

debate  was  held  between  WEBSTER  and  Hayne  our  Consti 
tution  had  thus  expanded.  The  process  was  slow,  inter 
mittent,  sometimes  reactionary,  but  it  can  be  perceived  by 
observing  the  stages  that  are  distant  from  each  other.  The 
Senator  from  Massachusetts  [Mr.  Lodge]  has  clearly  seen 
and  stated  this  in  his  life  of  WEBSTER.  Necessity  had 
decreed  that  the  compact  between  the  States  should  be 
come  a  personal  covenant  and  duty  between  the  people  of 
those  States.  Andrew  Jackson  had  so  proclaimed  it  to  the 
people  of  his  native  State.  But  it  was  reserved  for  DANIEL 
WEBSTER  to  register  this  transformation  by  an  edict  which 
has  never  been  reversed. 

This  was  his  greatest  service  to  his  country.  The  league 
became  a  nation;  the  federation  became  a  unity.  From 
that  time  forth  it  can  be  plainly  seen  that  the  United 
States  moved  with  a  loftier  port  among  the  nations  and 
felt  within  itself  the  workings  of  a  greater  and  growing 
power,  until,  when  the  time  came  for  its  exercise  upon 
sectional  revolt,  it  was  found  that  never  in  all  the  tide  of 
time,  under  any  form  of  government  that  man  has  known, 
were  energies  so  enormous  displayed  for  national  suprem 
acy  and  preservation. 

At  the  bar,  in  the  Senate,  in  the  Cabinet,  DANIEL 
WEBSTER  built  upon  and  expanded  the  Constitution  be 
yond  any  man  of  his  time  or  any  party  of  men.  Yet  it  has 
been  said  of  him  that  he  was  not  a  constructive  statesman, 
that  he  originated  few  measures,  drafted  few  statutes,  and 
that  he  was  a  mere  demonstrator.  Exactly  the  contrary  is 
the  fact.  He  was  the  most  constructive  of  American 
statesmen.  He  construed  the  Constitution  constructively 
in  nearly  all  of  its  articles.  He  applied  it  and  expounded 


164  Address  of  Mr.  Davis  on  the 

it,  and  to-day  his  personality  is  inseparably  identified  with 
it  as  it  is. 

This  majestic  presence  among  men  seemed  born  for  this 
great  duty.  His  cosmic  intellect  seemed  from  the  day  of 
its  first  exertions  to  fill  the  Union.  What  trait  did  he 
display  to  indicate  in  what  State  he  was  born?  He  was 
not  a  Puritan.  He  showed  no  trace  of  provincialism.  He 
filled  the  land.  This  mighty  Antaeus  drew  strength  from 
contact  with  every  portion  of  it. 

It  is  said  that  he  erred  at  last.  This  is  true.  A  divinity 
stronger  than  he,  that  power  that  through  the  popular  con 
science  makes  weak  all  human  strength,  lifted  this  giant 
from  contact  with  the  earth  that  gave  him  power.  The 
overmastering  force  it  once  had  given  him  no  longer  came. 
He  struggled  with  stronger  powers  than  his  until  earth 
took  him,  stilled  in  the  sublime  repose  of  death,  into  her 
bosom  at  Marshfield,  where  the  sea  intones  its  everlasting 
monody  at  his  tomb. 

Censure  has  ceased  to  vex  his  memory;  contemporary 
blame  has  somehow  turned  to  praise;  for  we  hear  now  only 
the  loving  undertones  of  Whittier's  lyric,  only  the  tender 
pathos  with  which  Parker  immolated  his  memory.  Pos 
terity  has  seen,  what  so  many  of  his  contemporaries  failed 
to  see,  that  the  acts  they  blamed  were  the  efforts  of  a  great 
man,  mistaken  as  to  the  forces  and  tendencies  of  his  time, 
to  uphold  the  Constitution  and  to  preserve  the  Union  from 
disruption  by  revolutionary  force.  The  Constitution  and 
the  Union  were  preserved,  but  not  by  the  means  through 
which  he  strove.  The  fountains  of  the  great  deep  broke 
with  destructive  power,  as  he  predicted  they  would.  He 
did  not  live  to  see  this.  But  could  he  stand  to-day  in  his 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.         165 

place  in  this  Chamber  he  would  see  the  Constitution  work 
ing  with  powers  adequate  to  every  emergency;  a  Union 
restored  and  preserved,  with  no  North,  no  South,  no  East, 
no  West  as  political  definitions;  he  would  see  all  this  effi 
cient  over  a  nation  grown  great  beyond  any  prediction  he 
ever  made.  He  would  also  feel  that  the  deliberate  judg 
ment  of  the  generation  next  his  own  had  decided  that  his 
efforts  imparted  to  the  people  powers  of  constitutional 
action  which  secured  "Liberty  and  Union,  now  and  forever, 
one  and  inseparable. ' ' 

It  is  now  forty-two  years  since  the  setting  of  that  sun. 
But  in  all  time  to  come,  whenever  the  Constitution  and 
the  Union  may  be  darkened  like  the  northern  continent  in 
some  long  arctic  night,  that  sunken  orb,  circling  forever 
beyond  the  horizon  of  time,  will  irradiate  the  gloom  of 
the  world  it  shone  upon  with  its  unquenchable  and  guid 
ing  light. 


166  Address  of  Mr.  Platt  on  the 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  PLATT. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT:  The  State  in  which  DANIEL  WEBSTER 
was  born,  nurtured,  and  educated,  in  which  his  vigorous 
manhood  was  developed,  does  well  in  placing  his  statue 
In  our  Memorial  Hall.  When  those  whom  we  love  and 
reverence  depart  from  us,  our  dearest  wish  is  to  mark  their 
resting  place  with  some  memorial  which  shall  perpetuate 
their  virtues  and  tell  posterity  how  much  we  loved  them. 
The  monument,  whether  simple  or  ornate,  is  as  truly  a 
necessity  of  our  lives  as  is  the  family  home.  Love  and 
faith,  which  flourish  at  the  fireside,  find  expression,  when 
our  loved  ones  are  gone,  in  the  monuments  which  mark 
their  graves,  in  the  portraits  or  statues  which  preserve  their 
semblance. 

Closely  related  to  this  individual  necessity  is  the  com 
mon  desire  of  the  whole  people  in  State  or  Nation  to 
honor  their  departed  heroes  and  great  ones  by  memorials 
which  shall  appropriately  and  enduringly  proclaim  their 
admiration,  reverence,  and  affection.  The  hero,  the  great 
man,  belongs  not  to  his  family  and  friends  alone,  but  to 
all  alike — to  the  State,  the  Nation;  indeed,  to  all  man 
kind  for  all  time. 

The  longing  to  tell  coming  generations  of  WEBSTER 
finds  its  best  expression  in  the  marble  statue  which  pre 
serves  his  features  and  displays  the  lineaments  of  his  char 
acter.  And  the  appropriate  place  for  that  statue  is  in 
National  Statuary  Hall,  in  the  building  where  his  greatest 
work  was  accomplished,  where  his  most  patriotic  and 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        167 

signal  triumphs  were  achieved.  He  returns  to-day  to  the 
scene  of  his  struggle,  to  the  arena  where  his  eternal 
trophies  were  won.  Henceforth  the  marble  shall  be  im 
bued  with  life,  and  to  all  who  look  upon  it  and  love  our 
country  WEBSTER  shall  be  a  new  inspiration. 

Those  who  by  law  set  apart  yonder  hall  to  its  memorial 
use  builded  better  than  they  knew.  The  fires  of  patriotism 
are  kindled  at  the  hearthstones  of  the  people;  but  as  the 
years  roll  on  the  silent  yet  eloquent  figures  in  Statuary 
Hall  will  more  and  more  increase  patriotic  devotion  and 
help  to  bind  together  more  firmly  the  country  in  whose 
history  the  men  thus  represented  were  such  great  actors. 

Yes,  New  Hampshire  does  well  when  it  places  the  statue 
of  WEBSTER  in  our  historic  and  memorial  hall,  for  he 
was  one  of  the  Nation's  greatest  men.  Many  have  esteemed 
him,  many  in  the  future  will  esteem  him,  to  have  been  the 
greatest  civilian  the  country  has  produced;  none  will  deny 
him  a  place  among  the  greatest.  He  does  not  belong 
alone  to  New  Hampshire,  where  he  was  born,  nor  to 
Massachusetts,  where  he  died ;  but  his  name,  his  fame,  and 
his  greatness  are  the  heritage  of  all.  DANIEL  WEBSTER 
belongs  to  the  Nation. 

The  really  great  men  of  any  period  are  but  few;  and 
when  a  man  does  indeed  compel  the  acknowledgment  of 
his  preeminence  among  a  race  where  all  possess  the  ele 
ments  of  greatness,  we  may  do  especial  honor  to  his  mem 
ory.  WEBSTER  lived  and  moved  in  a  period  when  all 
possessed  in  a  marked  degree  robust  manhood,  high  pur 
pose,  unyielding  strength.  "There  were  giants  in  those 
days ; ' '  and  yet  as  I  read  history  I  think  he  stood  higher 
than  any  other  man  of  that  period — a  giant  among  giants. 


168  Address  of  Mr.  Plait  on  the 

I  have  often  looked  upon  a  forest  of  sturdy  trees  outlined 
against  the  clear  twilight  sky,  and  have  seen  here  and  there 
a  tree  which  pushed  its  branches  higher  than  the  surround 
ing  level  of  tree-tops.  Few  indeed  they  were ;  but  some 
times  as  my  eye  swept  the  whole  forest  line  It  has  rested  at 
last  upon  a  single  tree,  towering  in  grand  and  massive 
strength  above  all  others — a  veritable  monarch  of  the 
forest — symmetrical  and  strong,  meeting  unharmed  the  full 
measure  of  every  storm. 

Such  was  WEBSTER.  The  men  of  his  generation  were 
robust  and  forceful.  A  few — I  need  not  name  them — were 
exceptional  in  their  eminence  ;  but  he  overtopped  them  all. 
To  what  particular  trait,  quality,  or  circumstance  he  owed 
this  conspicuous  exaltation  we  may  not  be  certain,  any 
more  than  we  may  know  to  what  in  seed  or  soil  or 
environment  we  may  attribute  the  growth  of  the  tallest  and 
grandest  oak  in  the  forest.  Men  have  spoken  and  written 
of  his  ancestry,  of  the  influence  upon  his  mind  in  its  form 
ative  stage  of  beautiful  and  impressive  scenery,  of  the  pre 
cepts  and  counsel  of  parents  and  instructors,  of  his  early 
and  continued  thirst  for  knowledge,  of  his  careful  and 
judicious  study,  of  his  severe  mental  discipline,  of  his 
ambition,  of  the  power  begotten  in  fierce  struggle  ;  and  yet 
we  can  never  be  sure  that  we  have  at  all  discovered  the 
real  source  of  his  strength. 

True  greatness  defies  analysis,  and  I  shall  not  attempt 
to  analyze  the  character  of  WEBSTER  in  the  hope  of 
describing  and  cataloguing  the  elements  which  composed 
it.  Fascinating  as  the  attempt  would  be,  I  could  not  hope 
to  succeed  where  so  many  have  failed.  We  only  know  that 
when  a  great  occasion  arises  in  history  a  man  equal  to  it 


Acceptance  of  the  Stattie  of  Daniel  Webster.         169 

appears  on  the  scene.  It  has  always  been  so;  \ve  may 
believe  that  in  the  providence  of  God  it  always  will  be  so. 
We  believe  it  was  so  in  the  case  of  WEBSTER.  Providence 
seems  to  have  set  before  him  a  great  work  to  do,  for  a  man 
must  have  accomplished  some  great  work  in  the  world  in 
order  to  have  achieved  enduring  greatness.  He  must  have 
been  great  in  performance  as  well  as  in  the  utterance  of 
great  thoughts. 

Many  are  regarded  great  during  their  lives  whose  fame 
does  not  long  survive  them.  Attractive  qualities,  fortunate 
opportunity,  a  magnetic  personality  may  win  for  a  man  the 
applause  of  his  fellows  and  give  him  for  the  time  being 
deserved  preeminence.  But  passing  years  are  the  unfailing 
test  of  real  greatness ;  and  whatever  men  during  his  life 
time  may  have  thought,  however  much  they  may  have 
doubted  whether  he  would  carry  into  history  the  fame  he 
achieved  in  his  generation,  now  that  more  than  forty  years 
have  passed  since  his  death  we  know  that  WEBSTER  was 
grandly  and  truly  great.  Time  has  withered  none  of  his 
laurels  ;  it  has  steadily  added  to  his  appreciation. 

What  one  thing,  then,  more  than  another  has  caused 
WEBSTER  to  live  in  the  hearts  of  the  people?  I  think 
others  equaled  him  at  the  bar,  and  in  mere  eloquence  as 
understood  by  the  schools.  I  am  quite  sure  that  other  leg 
islators  crystallized  more  of  their  thought  into  legislation 
of  the  day  than  he  did.  Indeed,  his  was  not  a  constructive 
life;  he  originated  little  either  of  policies  or  statutes. 
With  all  his  marvelous  grasp  and  comprehension  of  public 
affairs,  his  speeches  were  mainly  for  or  against  measures 
proposed  by  others  or  in  support  of  resolutions  introduced 
by  himself  expressive  only  of  abstract  opinions.  He  was 


170  Address  of  Mr.  Platt  on  the 

not  a  leader  of  his  party  in  the  sense  that  he  marked  out  a 
course  for  his  party  to  pursue.  He  seems  often  to  have 
acquiesced  in  party  measures  for  which  he  could  not  secure 
the  approval  of  his  own  judgment.  His  course  appears  to 
have  been  vacillating  and  inconstant  on  many  occasions. 

On  what  solid  foundation,  then,  does  his  fame  securely 
rest?  I  think  on  this:  That  it  was  given  to  him  to  see 
clearly  and  to  convince  others  fully  that  the  United  States 
of  America  was  an  indissoluble  Union,  not  a  mere  associa 
tion  of  States,  to  be  dissevered  by  the  withdrawal  of  one 
or  more,  but  that  it  was  a  Union  of  all  the  people — in  the 
felicitous  language  of  Lincoln,  a  government  of  the  peo 
ple,  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people,  whose  laws  must 
be  respected  and  obeyed  by  all. 

As  the  great  apostle  to  the  Gentiles  was  raised  up  to 
teach  mankind  that  all  true  believers  constituted  one  church, 
WEBSTER  was  raised  up  to  teach  Americans  that  all  the 
people  in  all  the  States  constituted  one  Government.  Paul 
was  the  apostle  of  Christian  unity;  WEBSTER  was  the  apos 
tle  of  our  national  unity.  For  this  one  great  work  all  his 
life  seems  to  have  been  a  special  training.  His  birthplace 
and  home  near  which  the  Cradle  of  Liberty  was  rocked  ; 
the  patriotism  inherited  from  his  patriotic  father ;  his  in 
tense  love  for  every  foot  of  our  soil ;  his  wonderful  mind, 
which  went  to  the  core  of  every  subject;  his  vivid  imagina 
tion,  which  could  picture  the  undeveloped  glory  of  the 
Nation;  his  vast  range  of  legal  learning,  which  fitted  him 
to  become  the  great  expounder  of  the  Constitution ;  a  pres 
ence. which  convinced  equally  with  his  logic  ;  an  eloquence 
which  electrified  all  hearers,  and  a  diction  which  secured 
a  home  for  his  thoughts  in  mansion  and  cabin  alike — 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        171 

all  these  were  but  a  preparation  for  the  hour  when  he 
should  step  forth  in  yonder  Chamber  the  champion  of  an 
indivisible  Union. 

The  senior  Senator  from  New  Hampshire  has  spoken  of 
WEBSTER  as  combining  in  greater  measure  than  any  other 
American  the  qualities  of  the  lawyer,  the  orator,  and  the 
statesman.  Let  me  add,  as  another  and  final  constituent  of 
the  combination,  that  of  the  patriot.  He  was  indeed  great 
as  a  lawyer,  as  an  orator,  and  as  a  statesman;  but  greater 
yet,  far  greater,  as  a  patriot.  In  all  that  he  said  and  all 
that  he  did  the  most  intense  and  burning  love  of  country 
was  apparent.  It  was  the  keynote  of  nearly  every  public 
utterance  of  his  life,  from  his  first  boyish  speech  to  that 
magnificent  peroration,  unequaled  in  any  language,  closing 
with  the  immortal  words,  "Liberty  and  Union,  now  and 
forever,  one  and  inseparable. ' '  The  love  of  country  was 
with  him  above  all  other  love. 

The  first  great  battle  for  the  Union  was  fought  not  with 
cannon  and  musketry,  nor  with  the  resistless  movement  of 
infantry,  nor  the  impetuous  charge  of  cavalry.  It  was  not 
won  on  a  field  with  thousands  of  soldiers  left  dead,  wounded, 
or  dying,  but  it  was  fought  and  won  in  the  old  Senate 
Chamber  on  the  26th  day  of  January,  1830,  with  weapons 
of  argument  and  logic  and  patriotic  eloquence  wielded  by 
the  greatest  American  that  ever  entered  the  field  of  historic 
debate. 

WEBSTER  was  needed  for  that  contest.  Looking  back 
over  those  times,  we  can  see  no  other  man  who  could  have 
fought  and  won  that  battle.  That  battle  lost,  it  is  not  too 
much  to  say  that  the  country  we  love  and  glory  in  to-day 
would  not  exist.  If  the  doctrine  of  secession  or  the  claim 


172  Address  of  Mr.  flatt  on  the 

that  a  State  might  declare  a  law  of  the  United  States  null 
and  void  had  not  been  that  day  overthrown  and  demol 
ished,  few  will  believe  that  the  subsequent  war  for  the 
Union  could  have  been  carried  to  a  triumphant  conclusion. 

It  is  hard  for  us  to  realize  now  what  a  desperate  battle 
WEBSTER  then  fought.  The  idea  of  national  unity  is  now 
so  firmly  established  that  we  can  not  understand  how  it 
could  ever  have  been  denied  or  doubted.  Yet  those  who 
went  that  day  to  the  Senate  Chamber  feeling  that  indivisi 
bility  of  country  ought  to  be  the  doctrine  of  the  Constitu 
tion  went  with  hearts  failing  them  for  fear.  They  feared 
that  it  was  not  really  to  be  found  therein ;  they  feared  that 
the  true  interpretation  of  that  instrument  evidenced  only  a 
compact  between  States,  and  that  it  was  not  the  organic  law 
of  a  perfect  and  complete  and  self-sustaining  Government. 

Nor  was  this  a  strange  fear.  When  the  colonies  denied 
the  authority  of  the  British  Crown  and  declared  themselves 
independent  States,  they  did  not  assume  to  organize  as  a 
single  and  perfect  government,  but  to  confederate  as  thir 
teen  States;  and  when  after  a  few  years  of  experiment  our 
Constitution  was  at  last  adopted,  the  Government  created 
by  it  was  regarded  generally,  I  think,  as  an  improved  con 
federation.  In  many  States  this  had  been  openly  avowed, 
and  to  a  certain  extent  acquiesced  in.  There  had  been  too 
much  of  this  in  New  England.  The  Hartford  Convention 
of  1814  had  tolerated,  if  it  had  not  asserted,  the  doctrine 
that  a  State  might  for  sufficient  cause  withdraw  from  the 
Union.  Even  WEBSTER,  so  far  as  I  know,  though  he  had 
never  given  public  sanction  to  this  idea,  had  never  publicly 
combated  it. 

When,   after  the  war  of   1812,   the  development  of  our 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        \  73 

country  opened  the  eyes  of  our  public  men  to  its  future — 
as  they  began  to  love  it  for  what  it  was  to  be,  as  well  as 
for  what  it  had  been  and  was — the  desire  for  nationality 
became  the  patriot's  passion;  his  intense  longing  was  for  a 
nation  that  no  earthly  power  could  destroy  or  hinder  and 
which  no  internal  dissension  could  tear  asunder.  Grad 
ually  he  came  to  feel  that  in  some  way  ours  must  be  an  in 
destructible  nation;  but  he  feared  that  the  legal  fact  was 
otherwise.  It  was  not  until  WEBSTER  made  good  his 
promise  to  Senator  Bell,  that  before  the  sun  went  down 
on  that  eventful  day  he  would,  by  the  blessing  of  God, 
show  the  people  what  the  Government  really  was,  that 
patriots  took  heart.  Then  the}'  saw  clearly  what  they 
had  earnestly  hoped  for,  but  only  dimly,  if  at  all,  com 
prehended. 

And  yet  it  was  the  patriotic  fervor  of  the  people  that 
made  WEBSTER'S  victory  possible.  Emerson,  hi  an  essay 
on  Napoleon,  says,  in  substance,  that  if  Napoleon  were 
France,  if  he  were  Europe,  it  was  because  the  men  he 
swayed  were  little  Napoleons.  So  WEBSTER  became  the 
exponent  and  bulwark  of  national  unity  because  the  patri 
otic  heart  of  the  people  longed  for  and  demanded  it. 

It  was  a  great  personal  as  well  as  national  victory  that 
WEBSTER  won  on  that  day.  They  were  no  mean  foemen 
whom  he  met  and  vanquished.  They  were  masters  of 
argument,  of  logic,  and  oratory.  They  were  powerful  in 
their  combination,  audacious  in  their  attack,  bitter  in  their 
personal  dislike,  and  fully  determined  to  crush  not  only 
WTEBSTER'S  doctrine  but  WEBSTER  himself. 

And  WEBSTER  stood  alone  to  resist  their  attack,  a  single 
knight  to  answer  and  meet  every  challenger.  Yet  his 


174  Address  of  Mr.  Platt  on  the 

triumph  was  complete.  History,  I  think,  records  no  other 
such  conflict  and  no  such  victory.  Not  for  twenty-five 
years  thereafter  could  the  advocates  of  the  theory  which 
was  then  so  boldly  avowed,  so  audaciously  championed, 
and  so  completely  overthrown,  rally  to  the  onset  again. 
And  when  at  last  the  doctrine  of  nullification  and  seces 
sion  was  once  more  proclaimed,  national  unity  had  become 
a  thing  no  longer  open  to  debate,  but  a  cause  which  men 
were  ready  to  die  to  maintain. 

Gettysburg  and  Appomattox  were  but  the  sequel  of  that 
day's  conflict.  The  battle  which  WEBSTER  fought  then 
in  the  Senate,  in  the  day  of  the  Nation's  sorest  peril,  saved 
the  Union  forever.  If  he  could  now  live  again  and  behold 
a  country  glorious  and  strong,  far  surpassing  in  its  present 
and  probable  development  all  that  his  patriotic  love  had 
ever  pictured,  he  would  find  his  reward  in  the  contempla 
tion  of  his  Nation's  glory  rather  than  in  the  plaudits  of 
his  countrymen.  To  that  day,  to  that  conflict,  to  that 
triumph,  all  his  life  led  up.  It  culminated  there. 

His  life's  greatest  work  was  accomplished.  Subsequent 
failure  can  never  mar  that  splendid  record;  subsequent 
mistake  can  never  dim  the  glory  of  the  crown  which  a 
grateful  people  placed  upon  his  head  to  commemorate  that 
triumph.  The  great  men  of  earth  have  not  been  perfect — 
the  imperfection  of  humanity  has  attached  to  them  all; 
and  WEBSTER  constitutes  no  exception  in  this  respect, 
But  mankind  justly  honors  its  great  for  the  courageous 
blows  they  have  struck,  for  the  mighty  deeds  they  have 
done.  Their  foibles  and  mistakes  we  forget;  their  true 
work  lives.  We  unveil  this  statue  of  WEBSTER  to-day 
because  he  saved  our  Nation. 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        175 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  CULLOM. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT  :  Every  citizen  of  the  United  States,  by 
the  very  birthright  of  his  citizenship,  is  endowed  with  an 
inalienable  interest  in  the  renown  achieved  by  those  great 
civil  and  military  heroes  of  onr  land  whose  careers  have 
long  been  ended,  and  upon  whose  lives  history  has  pro 
nounced  the  verdict  of  admiration  and  approval.  This 
inalienable  interest  which  we  proudly  claim  as  a  possessory 
right  is  a  cherished  heritage,  guaranteed  to  us  under  those 
unwritten  preemption  laws  which  have  decreed  that  the 
glorious  memories  of  the  genius,  the  honor,  and  the 
greatness  of  the  earlier  American  statesmen  and  warriors 
shall  be  the  common  property  of  the  people  of  this  coun 
try  through  the  uncounted  ages  of  future  time. 

Mr.  President,  during  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  among  all  the  great  statesmen  of  the  Republic, 
no  man  occupied  a  higher  place  in  the  forum  of  the  Sen 
ate,  none  achieved  greater  success  as  an  advocate  at  the 
bar,  and  no  one  so  completely  challenged  the  criticism 
and  admiration  of  the  American  people  as  DANIEL  WEB 
STER,  "  the  great  expounder"  of  the  Constitution.  And 
although  more  than  forty  years  have  passed  since  his  lips 
forever  ceased  to  pronounce  those  commanding  sentences, 
or  paused  in  most  emphatic  periods,  yet  the  halo  of  fresh 
ness  still  crowns  his  finished  oratory,  and  the  vigor  of  his 
arguments  still  thoroughly  impresses  the  reader  writh  his 
greatness  of  mind  and  the  scope  and  breadth  of  his  power 
of  comprehension. 


176  Address  of  Mr.  Cullom  on  the 

The  works  of  DANIEL  WEBSTER  are  among  those  which 
adorn  the  collection  of  American  classics,  and  many  of 
them  would  not  suffer  by  comparison  with  the  greatest 
orations  delivered  in  the  Roman  senate.  It  might  be  an 
extravagance  to  say  that  WEBSTER  stood  highest  among 
the  orators  and  thinkers  of  his  day,  but  it  is  not  too  much 
to  claim  him  as  the  equal  of  the  greatest.  And  if  the 
United  States,  like  France,  had  possessed  a  Society  of  Im 
mortals,  a  body  in  which  the  wondrous  gifts  of  eloquence, 
forensic  skill,  statesmanship,  and  knowledge  of  law  were 
among  the  requisites  for  the  exalted  membership,  there, 
high  upon  the  roll,  would  have  been  found  the  name  of 
WEBSTER. 

How  apt  and  true  were  the  words  of  Edward  Everett  in 
his  address  at  Faneuil  Hall  in  Boston  upon  the  death  of 
WEBSTER!  He  said: 

There  is  but  one  voice  that  ever  fell  upon  my  ear  which  could  do 
justice  to  such  an  occasion.  That  voice,  alas!  we  shall  hear  no 
more  forever.  No  more  at  the  bar  will  it  unfold  the  deepest  myste 
ries  of  the  law;  no  more  will  it  speak  conviction  to  admiring  Sena 
tors;  no  more  in  this  hall,  the  chosen  theater  of  his  intellectual 
dominion,  will  it  lift  the  soul  as  with  the  swell  of  the  pealing  organ, 
or  stir  the  blood  with  the  tones  of  a  clarion  in  the  inmost  chambers 
of  the  heart. 

Mr.  President,  the  student  of  to-day,  the  teacher,  the 
merchant,  the  farmer,  the  American  citizen  of  whatever 
calling,  would  feel  himself  poor  in  knowledge  and  sadly 
equipped  even  for  humble  life  not  to  know  of  the  men 
upon  whose  brows  the  laurels  of  civic  victories  have  been 
justly  placed. 

Calhoun,  Clay,  and  WEBSTER,  naming  them  in  the 
order  in  which  they  were  claimed  by  death,  were,  each  in 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.         Ml 

his  sphere,  the  embodiment  of  the  ideas,  theories,  and 
opinions  entertained  by  his  respective  admirers  and  adher 
ents,  and  they  composed  a  trinity  of  statesmen  to  which 

» 

any  land  might  look  with  pride.  But  WEBSTER  was  the 
great  leader,  and  was,  as  Rufus  Choate  once  said: 

The  last  of  that  surpassing  triumvirate;  shall  we  say  the  greatest, 
the  most  widely  known  and  admired  of  them  all  ? 

Mr.  President,  while  WEBSTER  was  regarded  in  his  day 
as  the  great  expounder  of  the  Constitution,  he  was  also  a 
great  master  of  oratory.  There  are  two  kinds  of  oratory, 
differing  widely  in  character  and  expression;  oratory 
which  sheds  luster  upon  the  orator,  and  oratory  which  stirs 
the  minds  and  hearts  of  men  to  lofty  aspirations  and  noble 
deeds.  It  is  said  that  after  Cicero  had  spoken  the  people 
exclaimed,  u What  a  splendid  orator  is  Cicero!"  but  when 
Demosthenes  declaimed  the  cry  arose,  u  L,et  us  march 
against  Philip!" 

The  eloquence  of  WEBSTER  was  of  the  Demosthenean 
type.  It  stirred  the  hearts  and  inflamed  the  patriotism  of 
his  fellow-countrymen.  Happily  this  great  American 
master  of  oratory  has  left  to  us  his  own  conception  of 
what  true  eloquence  is.  It  is  found  in  his  immortal 
oration  at  Faneuil  Hall  in  commemoration  of  the  lives  and 
services  of  Adams  and  Jefferson,  the  two  patriotic  ex- 
Presidents  who  died  on  the  Fourth  of  July,  1826: 

Pure  eloquence — 

Says  he- 
does  not  consist  in  speech.  It  can  not  be  brought  from  far  ;  labor 
and  learning  may  toil  for  it,  but  they  will  toil  in  vain.  Words  and 
phrases  may  be  marshaled  in  every  way,  but  they  can  not  com 
pass  it.  It  must  exist  in  the  man,  in  the  subject,  and  in  the  occa- 
12  s — w 


178  Address  of  Mr.  Cullom  on  the 

sion.  Affected  passion,  intense  expression,  the  pomp  of  declamation, 
all  may  aspire  to  it;  they  can  not  reach  it.  It  comes,  if  it  comes  at 
all,  like  the  outbreaking  of  a  fountain  from  the  earth,  or  the  bursting 
forth  of  volcanic  fires  with  spontaneous  original  native  force.  The 
graces  taught  in  the  schools,  the  costly  ornaments  and  studied  con 
trivances  of  speech,  shock  and  disgust  men  when  their  own  lives  and 
the  fate  of  their  wives,  their  children,  and  their  country  hang  on  the 
decision  of  the  hour.  Their  words  have  lost  their  power,  rhetoric  is 
vain,  and  all  elaborate  oratory  contemptible.  Even  genius  itself 
then  feels  rebuked  and  subdued  as  in  the  presence  of  higher  quali 
ties.  Then  patriotism  is  eloquent ;  then  self-devotion  is  eloquent. 
The  clear  conception  outrunning  the  deductions  of  logic,  the  high 
purpose,  the  firm  resolve,  the  dauntless  spirit  speaking  on  the  tongue, 
beaming  from  the  eye,  informing  every  feature  and  urging  the  whole 
man  onward,  right  onward  to  his  object — this,  this  is  eloquence,  or 
rather  it  is  something  greater  and  higher  than  all  eloquence :  it  is 
action,  noble,  sublime,  godlike. 

No  words  of  mine  could  possibly  convey  the  concep 
tion  of  the  eloquence  of  DANIEL  WEBSTER  as  do  these 
grand  words,  which  constitute  at  once  an  inspiration  to 
patriotism  and  an  ornament  to  English  literature.  His 
words  have  become  to  all  generations  a  priceless  inherit 
ance.  No  statesman  and  orator  of  our  country  has  ever 
inculcated  in  the  minds  of  his  countrymen  a  truer  or  more 
devoted  Americanism.  In  one  of  his  impassioned  utter 
ances,  apparently  carried  away  by  his  enthusiasm,  he  ex 
claimed: 

America,  America,  our  country,  fellow-citizens;  our  own  dear  and 
native  land! 

How  his  soul  would  have  abhorred  that  petty  political 
doctrine  of  discontent  which  has  been  inculcated  in  this 
country  in  these  latter  years.  One  of  the  grandest  tributes 
which  he  ever  paid  to  his  fellow-citizens  of  Massachusetts 
was  the  following: 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.         179 

You  have  conquered  an  inhospitable  clime,  you  have  conquered  a 
barren  soil,  you  have  conquered  the  ocean  which  lashes  your  shores, 
and  have  made  yourselves  the  glory  and  esteem  of  all  the  world. 

WEBSTER  reserved  his  greatest  utterances  for  grand  occa 
sions  and  great  inspiration.  On  one  occasion,  in  referring 
to  the  affairs  of  Hungary,  then  in  her  struggle  for  liberty, 
he  said: 

I  see  that  the  Emperor  of  Russia  demands  of  Turkey  that  the 
noble  Kossuth  and  his  companions  shall  be  given  up  to  be  dealt 
with  at  his  pleasure,  and  I  see  that  this  demand  is  made  in  derision 
of  the  established  laws  of  nations.  Gentlemen,  there  is  something 
on  earth  greater  than  arbitrary  or  despotic  power.  The  lightning 
has  its  power,  the  whirlwind  has  its  power,  and  the  earthquake  has  its 
power,  but  there  is  something  among  men  more  capable  of  shaking 
despotic  power  than  the  lightning,  the  whirlwind,  or  the  earthquake, 
and  that  is  the  excited  and  aroused  indignation  of  the  whole  civilized 
world. 

The  story  is  told  that  before  the  great  audience  was 
aware  of  what  was  coming  his  majestic  form  began  to 
tower,  his  eyes  to  kindle,  and  his  voice  caught  the  keynote 
of  the  vast  building,  till,  in  the  illusion  of  the  senses,  the 
lightning  flashed,  and  the  whirlwind  shook  the  place,  and 
the  firm  foundation  seemed  to  rock  as  with  an  earthquake. 
Such  was  the  power  of  DANIEL  WEBSTER  as  an  orator. 

Mr.  President,  for  centuries  the  relations  between  na 
tions  were  largely  determined  in  whispered  conversations 
betwreen  statesmen  and  ambassadors.  Whatever  a  states 
man  said,  even  in  private,  \vas  treated  as  a  public  utterance, 
and  nations  were  held  responsible  for  remarks  made  by 
public  men  even  in  the  social  circle.  If  the  representa 
tives  of  one  nation  at  the  court  of  another  were  re 
ceived  with  smiles,  it  was  regarded  as  evidence  of  amity 
and  good  will,  but  if  received  with  a  frown,  this  was 


180  Address  of  Mr.  Cullom  on  the 

regarded  as  evidence  of  hostility.  If  a  sovereign  turned 
his  back  upon  an  ambassador,  this  was  regarded  as  almost 
a  declaration  of  war,  and  dispatches  were  sent  forthwith 
by  flying  couriers  to  all  parts  of  the  world.  We  may 
recall  the  history  of  that  celebrated  congress  of  nations 
which  met  at  Ryswick,  Holland,  about  1697,  to  settle  one 
of  the  most  disastrous  wars  of  that  age. 

Almost  every  court  in  Europe  sent  its  representatives, 
and  the  entire  body  spent  months  in  determining  how  they 
were  to  meet,  who  should  be  entitled  to  precedence,  and 
how  many  attendants  each  should  have.  Much  time  was 
spent  in  advancing  toward  each  other  at  the  place  of 
meeting.  No  representative  was  willing  to  appear  more 
anxious  than  the  other,  and  the  consequence  was  that  as 
they  advanced  if  one  took  a  step  more  than  another  they 
all  had  to  go  back  and  begin  over  again  ;  and  so  they  con 
tinued  in  dancing  a  sort  of  minuet  and  counting  the  steps 
of  each  other.  William  III  of  England  and  Louis  XIV 
of  France  each  sent  a  trusty  representative  to  confer 
together  by  themselves.  They  met  in  an  orchard,  and 
while  walking  up  and  down  for  an  hour  or  so  these  two 
practically  settled  the  controversy  and  left  the  ambassadors 
to  go  on  with  their  dance  until  they  heard  that  the  busi 
ness  was  settled. 

In  1850,  if  I  remember  rightly,  when  WEBSTER  was  Sec 
retary  of  State,  he  made  a  speech  at  a  dinner  in  Washington 
in  which  he  commented  bitterly  on  the  conduct  of  Austria 
in  the  treatment  of  the  Hungarian  revolutionists.  Baron 

o 

Hulsemann  was  the  Austrian  ambassador  to  this  Govern 
ment.  He  immediately  wrote  the  Secretary  asking  him 
what  he  meant  by  his  speech,  and  in  reply  received  an 
answer  which  deservedly  made  a  great  noise  in  the  world. 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.         181 

With  the  utmost  politeness  Secretary  WEBSTER  substan 
tially  told  the  Austrian  ambassador  to  mind  his  own  busi 
ness,  declaring  that  the  purpose  and  intentions  of  the 
American  Government  were  not  to  be  learned  from  the  pri 
vate,  unofficial  remarks  of  anybody.  He  took  the  position 
that  this  country  would  speak  to  other  countries  officially, 
and  by  such  communications  alone  this  country  should  be 
pledged.  This,  I  think,  was  a  new  departure  in  diplomacy, 
and  struck  a  powerful  blow  at  the  old  and  childlike  methods 
which  had  prevailed  for  centuries. 

It  is  just  and  proper  that  nations  should  communicate 
with  each  other  in  written  words,  leaving  no  uncertainty  as 
to  what  is  said  or  intended.  It  is  remarkable  that  in  1880, 
while  Mr.  Gladstone  was  making  a  canvass  for  his  election 
to  Parliament,  he  reflected,  in  a  public  speech,  on  Austria, 
charging  that  nation  with  entertaining  the  deliberate  pur 
pose  of  violating  treaty  obligations.  Mr.  Gladstone  was 
not  then  in  office,  but  in  a  few  weeks  became  prime  minis 
ter  of  England.  The  Austrian  ambassador  at  once  wrote 
to  him  asking  what  he  meant  by  his  recent  speech.  The 
Grand  Old  Man  did  not  reply  as  DANIEL  WEBSTER  did. 
Reflecting  on  the  matter,  he  finally,  with  that  proud  humil 
ity  which  always  characterized  him,  admitted  that  he  was 
wrong.  WEBSTER  pursued  the  more  statesmanlike  course. 
He  struck  at  the  old,  childish  methods  of  diplomatists, 
carried  on  by  whispers  and  smiles  and  frowns  and  petty 
actions,  which  were  not  manly  and  were  liable  to  be  mis 
understood. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  this  Government  will  continue  to 
follow  the  example  of  WEBSTER,  and  extend  the  practice 
of  communicating  with  other  nations  in  writing,  so  that 


182  Address  of  Mr.  Cullom  on  the 

there  can  be  no  possible  dispute  as  to  what  is  said,  and  that 
the  amenities  of  social  intercourse  shall  not  be  held  as 
meaning-  anything  whatever  in  diplomacy. 

Mr.  President,  I  feel  some  pride  in  the  fact  that  DANIEL 
WEBSTER,  as  early  as  1837,  when  in  the  full  tide  of  his 
manhood,  impressed  with  the  importance  of  the  West, 
sought  out  and  purchased  a  tract  of  land  in  my  own  State 
of  Illinois,  something  like  a  thousand  acres,  not  very  far 
from  my  own  home,  where  he  contemplated  the  possibility 
of  enjoying  his  later  days  when  he  should  be  relieved  from 
public  duties.  In  conversation  he  often  referred  to  this 
investment,  and  in  his  will  he  refers  especially  to  its 
disposition  after  his  death. 

DANIEL  WEBSTER,  in  all  the  relations  of  public  life,  was 
dignified  and  manly.  His  social  intercourse  with  even  his 
greatest  political  antagonists  was  sincere  and  enjoyable. 
The  greatest  possible  admiration  for  each  other  existed 
between  WEBSTER  and  Calhoun,  and  the  latter,  feeble  and 
broken,  but  a  few  days  before  his  death  almost  risked  his 
life  to  listen  to  a  great  speech  of  WEBSTER  in  the  Senate. 
WEBSTER  was  generous  and  sympathetic,  and  although 
between  him  and  Ben  ton  there  had  for  some  years  existed 
a  solid  barrier  over  which  neither  would  step,  he  brought 
about  a  reconciliation,  and  a  perfect  and  happy  fellowship 
thereafter  existed  between  them.  But  to  others  more 
properly  belongs  the  privilege  of  eulogy  and  praise,  and  to 
them  I  leave  it. 

Mr.  President,  Senators,  we  to-day  receive  and  accept 
from  New  Hampshire,  the  State  which  gave  DANIEL 
WEBSTER  to  the  country  and  to  the  world,  the  semblance 
of  his  commanding  figure — 

In  pallid  marble  fashioned. 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.         1 83 

His  statue  is  to  take  its  place  in  the  appropriate  hall 
yonder,  amid  that  noble  group  of  noble  men,  where  his 
sculptured  form  may  claim  just  fellowship  with  all.  In 
such  association  may  we  not  imagine  that  the  enduring 
stone  shall  for  a  time  stand  forth  clothed  anew  with  life, 
endowed  with  the  divine  adornments  of  humanity,  and  be 
given  voice  to  speak  immortal  words  to  the  wondrous 
audience  in  that  great  chamber  of  patriots  and  heroes  ? 
Let  the  imagination  go  further,  and  show  to  us  Washington, 
and  Lincoln,  and  Adams,  and  all  the  illustrious  company, 
once  more  sentient  with  life,  and  stepping  down  from  their 
pedestals  to  hail  and  join  each  other  in  a  great  chorus  of 
joy  over  the  stability  of  the  Government  which  their  great 
minds  had  conceived  and  their  earnest  hands  builded  and  '• 
maintained.  And  then,  when  silence  reigns,  following  the 
final  invocation  and  dedication,  the  oration,  an  oration  from 
the  godlike  WEBSTER,  shall  close  and  terminate  forever  this 
imaginary  quickening  into  life,  upon  which  each  marble 
form  will  resume  its  place,  inanimate,  eternal,  glorious. 


184  Address  of  Mr.  Mitchell  on  the 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  MITCHELL,  OF  OREGON, 

Mr.  PRESIDENT:  After  the  many  able  and  interesting 
speeches  to  which  we  have  listened,  any  words  of  mine  would 
seem  to  be  a  superfluity,  and  nothing  but  the  honor  done 
the  State  I  in  part  represent  here,  by  the  invitation  from 
the  distinguished  Senators  from  New  Hampshire  that  I 
should  say  something,  would  induce  me  at  this  late  hour 
to  trespass  on  the  patience  of  the  Senate. 

Seldom  is  it  that  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  is 
privileged  to  participate  in  a  ceremonial  like  the  present; 
infrequent  that  any  State  in  the  Union  is  permitted  to 
enjoy  the  distinguished  honor  which  the  State  and  people 
of  New  Hampshire  enjoy  to-day.  That  New  Hampshire 
should  have  been  the  birthplace  of  DANIEL  WEBSTER  is 
an  honor  of  much  more  than  ordinary  distinction,  and  one 
of  which  the  State  may  well  be  proud. 

Forty-two  years  ago  the  morning  of  the  24th  of  October 
last  the  great  heart  of  DANIEL  WEBSTER  performed  its 
final  office,  gave  its  parting  throb,  and  a  great  man  died. 
Then  it  was  that  the  tomb  uncovered  to  welcome  to  its 
shades  America's  intellectual  giant,  one  among  that  class 
of  great  men  of  this  and  other  ages  endowed  with  extraor 
dinary  discursive  faculties.  Then  one  of  the  ablest,  if  not 
indeed  the  ablest,  interpreter  of  the  Constitution  and  one 
of  the  most  stalwart  champions  of  constitutional  govern 
ment  surrendered  his  life  to  Him  who  gave  it.  Then  the 
bar,  not  only  of  the  State  of  his  birth  and  the  State  of  his 
adoption  but  of  the  United  States,  was  deprived  01"  one 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        185 

of  its  most  conspicuous  and  shining  ornaments.  Then  the 
Nation,  represented  by  all  the  people,  following  the  decla 
ration  of  the  immortal  Dryden,  said:  "I  will  myself  be  the 
chief  mourner  at  his  obsequies,"  and  stood  with  uncovered 
head  before  the  waiting  tomb,  in  obeisance  to  the  name 
and  memory  of  one  whose  public  services  had  been  of  the 
very  highest  order  and  of  inestimable  value  to  the  state. 

Having  lived  in  a  generation  that  has  passed  away,  we 
can  only  see  him  in  the  light  of  history;  but  viewed  in 
that  light  we  behold  in  him  the  greatest  of  all  the  great 
expounders  of  the  Constitution,  if  we  may  indeed  except 
perhaps  the  late  Chief  Justice  Marshall;  abreast  of  the 
foremost  in  rank  of  the  great  lawyers  of  his  time,  second 
perhaps  to  none,  but  excelling  all  in  solid  ability,  depth 
and  breadth  of  thought,  and  in  power  of  demonstration, 
among  the  entire  list  of  American  statesmen.  Peerless  in 
mentality,  gifted  in  prescience,  thoroughly  instructed  in 
historical  and  governmental  literature,  endowed  with 
extraordinary  oratorical  powers,  he  was  surpassed  in  these 
respects  by  none  of  his  day  and  generation,  and  only 
equaled  by  the  most  intellectual  and  accomplished  of  either 
ancient  or  modern  times. 

WEBSTER  was  a  human  prodigy,  a  unique  intellectual 
entity.  He  towered  above  his  fello\vs  in  his  lines  of  supe 
riority  like  Napoleon  in  France,  Bismarck  in  Germany, 
Gladstone  in  England,  in  their  respective  traits  of  greatness. 
The  light  of  his  marvelous  mind  did  not  "shine  eccentric, 
like  a  comet's  blaze,"  but  clear  and  steady,  like  the  sun  in 
his  splendor  when  it  "shines  serenely  bright." 

That  he  was  endowed  by  nature  with  rare  gifts,  all  will 
agree.  That  he  was  a  patriot  in  the  grandest  and  loftiest 


186  Address  of  Mr.  Mitchell  on  the 

sense  of  that  term,  none  will  deny.  That  as  a  logician, 
statesman,  orator,  he  ranked  inferior  to  none  among  the 
logicians,  statesmen,  and  orators,  not  only  of  the  times  in 
which  he  lived  but  of  any  period,  but  was  superior  to 
most,  there  are  few  to  dispute. 

To  WEBSTER  more  than  to  any  other  American  is  due 
the  credit  of  infusing  into  the  American  mind  and  crystal 
lizing  in  the  American  conscience  a  correct  interpretation 
of  the  Constitution.  Fortunate  for  his  country,  he  lived 
at  a  time  when  his  commanding  presence,  his  great  intel 
lect,  his  legal  learning,  his  acknowledged  familiarity  with 
constitutional  law,  his  remarkable  oratorical  powers,  his 
grand  patriotism,  his  wide  influence,  all  combined  to  equip 
him  to  correctly  interpret  the  fundamental  law  under 
which  we  live  in  respect  of  the  relation  existing  between 
the  National  Government  and  the  States  respectively,  and 
in  respect  of  the  jurisdiction  and  powers  of  each. 

That  the  interpretation  which  he  placed  on  the  Consti 
tution  in  these  respects  has  stood  the  test  not  only  of  the 
most  able  criticisms  of  lawyers  eminent  in  their  profession 
as  constitutional  and  statutory  constructionists,  but  of  the 
more  trying  ordeal  of  the  conflict  of  arms,  is  of  itself  a 
monument  of  commendation  to  his  sagacity,  his  great 
ability,  his  legal  learning,  his  constitutional  knowledge, 
his  proficiency  as  a  dialectician,  his  patriotism. 

The  inspiration  of  his  matchless  speeches  in  support  of 
the  integrity  of  the  Constitution  and  the  Union,  and  in 
opposition  to  a  vicious  construction  of  the  fundamental 
law  sought  by  some  to  be  ingrafted  on  that  great  instru 
ment,  infused  patriotism  into  the  minds  and  hearts  of  a 
million  men  and  prompted  them  to  the  rescue  when  thirty 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        187 

years  or  more  later  that  integrity  was  assailed  by  force  of 
arms. 

That  DANIEL  WEBSTER  was  in  respect  of  rare  intellec 
tual  powers  unexcelled,  if  indeed  equaled,  by  any  Amer 
ican  logician  or  statesman  that  has  ever  lived,  may  well 
be  questioned.  That  he  was  not  as  brilliant,  or  as  thor 
oughly  accomplished  in  classical  literature,  or  perhaps 
not  as  well  grounded  in  the  law  as  a  few  others,  are  also 
facts  recognized  by  history. 

In  the  generation  in  which  WEBSTER  lived  there  were 
many  men  of  great  aptitude  and  power,  of  distinguished 
lineage,  of  great  learning,  of  incomparable  capacity  as  law 
yers,  logicians,  orators,  and  statesmen;  but  among  all  these 
looms  up  in  history  the  great,  the  immortal  WEBSTER,  as 
has  been  stated  of  Napoleon,  "grand,  gloomy,  and  pecu 
liar,"  endowed  with  those  superb  and  varied  intellectual 
qualities  which  united  in  making  him  but  little  less,  if  at 
all,  than  the  peer  of  any  of  them  in  every  one  of  these  rare 
endowments  and  attainments,  and  preeminent  in  respect  to 
most  of  them. 

The  names  of  many  men  of  ability,  of  genius,  of  power, 
who  lived  in  the  generation  in  which  WEBSTER  lived; 
the  names  of  illustrious  lawyers,  statesmen,  logicians,  con 
temporary  with  him,  may,  and  doubtless  will,  as  time  shall 
complete  its  coming  cycles,  fade  away  and  be  forever 
forgotten  in  the  history  yet  to  be  written,  when  the  name 
of  WEBSTER  will  in  that  same  history  be  remembered 
with  pride,  and  the  light  of  his  undying  fame  as  states 
man,  orator,  logician,  patriot,  will  shed  unfading  luster 
upon  its  pages. 

Although    he  was    denied   that  -prestige  and    eminence 


188  Address  of  Mr.  Mitchell  on  the 

which  attach  to  those  upon  whom  has  been  conferred  the 
highest  honor  the  Republic  can  bestow  on  any  of  its  citi 
zens,  yet  the  names  of  many  of  those  so  honored  will  be  less 
conspicuous  in  future  history  than  that  of  WEBSTER. 

That  he  was  as  great  a  jurist  as  John  Marshall,  or 
Jeremiah  Mason,  or  Pinckney,  I  do  not  believe.  That  he 
was  not  naturally  as  oratorically  brilliant  as  Henry  Clay, 
in  the  common  acceptance  of  that  term,  must,  I  think,  be 
conceded;  but  that  he  was  greater  than  all  these  in  solidity 
of  intellect,  breadth,  depth,  and  expansion  of  mind,  and 
in  capacity  and  power  to  grasp,  unfold,  elucidate,  demon 
strate,  and  make  clear  and  plain  to  all,  great,  intricate, 
fundamental  governmental  questions,  there  can  be  no 
room  for  doubt. 

That  DANIEL  WEBSTER,  forty  years  after  he  had  lived 
and  died,  having  such  contemporaries  as  Clay,  Calhoun, 
Hayne,  Everett,  Choate,  and  many  more  scarcely  less  illus 
trious,  and  after  having  been  followed  since  then  by  such 
accomplished  orators  and  statesmen  as  Sumner,  Seward, 
Conkling,  Carpenter,  Elaine,  Douglas,  and  Lincoln,  who 
have  in  their  respective  spheres  shed  the  unfading  glory  of 
their  eloquence  on  the  pages  of  our  history,  adorned  them 
with  the  elegance  of  their  erudition,  and  garnished  them 
with  the  beauty  of  their  matchless  diction,  should  have 
been  characterized  in  the  cyclopedia  of  universal  history 
as  "the  greatest  master  of  American  oratory"  is  of  itself  a 
tribute  to  his  name  and  memory  in  that  regard  of  unexcep 
tionable  character. 

Whether  WEBSTER  was  really  the  most  gifted  and  thor 
oughly  equipped  lawyer  of  his  time  has  been  a  question  of 
serious  disputation  among  lawyers  of  high  rank.  The  late 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        189 

Senator  Carpenter,  of  Wisconsin,  acknowledged  by  all  as 
standing  in  his  time  in  the  front  rank  of  the  American  bar, 
gave  Choate  the  preference.  In  Neilson's  Memoirs  of 
Ruftis  Choate,  Mr.  Carpenter,  in  his  contribution,  says: 

He  (Choate)  always  stood  in  awe  of  WEBSTER,  and  spent  nights 
in  preparation  when  about  to  contend  with  him  at  the  bar.  This  I 
never  could  understand.  As  a  mere  lawyer  I  think  Choate  as  much 
the  superior  of  WEBSTER  as  WEBSTER  was  the  superior  of  lawyers 
generally. 

Possibly  the  fact  that  Choate  was  Carpenter's  tutor  when 
he  studied  law  may,  to  some  extent,  have  warped  his  judg 
ment.  However,  all  agree  that  Rufus  Choate  was  one  of 
the  most  gifted  and  accomplished  lawyers  the  American  bar 
has  ever  known. 

DANIEL  WEBSTER  was,  in  the  opinion  of  General 
Butler- 

the  foremost  lawyer  of  Massachusetts,  as  well  as  the  foremost  lawyer 
of  the  country. 

The  two  most  distinguished  lawyers  of  the  New  Hamp 
shire  bar  in  WEBSTER'S  earlier  practice  were  Jeremiah 
Mason  and  Jeremiah  Smith,  both  eminent  in  their  profes 
sion,  the  latter  being  the  chief  justice  of  the  State.  As 
mere  lawyers  they  were,  I  believe,  almost  universally 
regarded  as  WEBSTER'S  equals  in  legal  attainments,  and  by 
many  as  his  superiors.  Later  on,  in  his  professional  career 
in  the  city  of  Boston,  when  but  thirty-five  years  of  age  he 
crossed  legal  swords  with  such  distinguished  lawyers  as 
Dexter,  Story,  Shaw,  Prescott,  Otis,  and  others,  all  then 
men  of  national  reputation  in  their  profession.  And  in 
legal  contests  with  them  he  won  unfading  laurels.  In  his 
more  advanced  life,  when  the  cares  of  state  enveloped  him 


190  Address  of  Mr.  Mitchell  on  the 

as  with  a  cloud,  he,  at  intervals,  in  the  Supreme  Court  of 

• 

the  United  States,  added  additional  jewels  to  a  professional 
wreath  of  fame  already  lustrous  in  its  brilliancy  by  his 
legal  battles  with  Pinckney,  and  Wirt,  and  Johnson,  and 
Seward,  and  Holmes,  and  other  men  of  like  world-wide 
reputation  as  lawyers. 

His  matchless  and  successful  constitutional  argument  in 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  in  the  Dartmouth 
College  case,  in  1818,  when  but  thirty-six  years  of  age,  and 
his  equally  great  though  unsuccessful  effort  in  the  Girard 
will  case  in  the  same  court  twenty-six  years  later,  in  1844, 
were,  by  the  concurrent  historic  testimony  of  bench  and 
bar,  forensic  efforts  characterized  by  great  knowledge  of 
constitutional  and  statutory  law,  by  irrefutable  logic,  by 
clearness  and  power  of  elucidation  and  demonstration,  and 
by  impressive  and  impassioned  jurisprudential  oratory,  un 
surpassed  by  any  ever  heard  in  that  august  tribunal  either 
before  or  since. 

Milliard,  in  speaking  of  WEBSTER'S  argument  in  the 
Dartmouth  College  case,  says: 

No  better  argument  has  been  spoken  in  the  English  tongue  in  the 
memory  of  any  living  man,  nor  is  the  child  that  is  born  to-day  likely 
to  live  to  hear  a  better.  Its  learning  is  ample,  but  not  ostentatious; 
its  logic  irresistible;  its  eloquence  vigorous  and  lofty. 

While  Justice  Story,  then  a  member  of  the  court,  is 
reported  by  the  same  historian  as  saying,  in  speaking  of  it: 

For  the  first  hour  we  listened  to  him  with  perfect  astonishment; 
for  the  second  hour  with  perfect  delight;  for  the  third  hour  with 
perfect  conviction. 

Mr.  Hilliard  thus  estimates  him  as  a  lawyer: 

Of  his  eminence  in  the  law,  meaning  the  law  as  administered  in 
the  ordinary  tribunals  of  the  country,  without  reference  for  the 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.         191 

present  to  constitutional  questions,  there  is  but  one  opinion  among 
competent  judges.  Some  may  have  excelled  him  in  a  single  faculty 
or  accomplishment;  but  in  the  combination  of  qualities  which  the 
law  requires  no  man  of  his  time  was,  on  the  whole,  equal  to  him. 

Mr.  Charles  L,anman,  long  his  private  secretary  during 
the  later  years  of  his  life,  in  the  "preliminary  note"  to  a 
little  volume  published  in  this  city  the  month  succeeding 
Mr.  WEBSTER'S  death,  entitled  "Private  Life  of  Daniel 
Webster,"  pays  him  this  high  tribute: 

His  fame  as  a  patriot,  a  jurist,  a  statesman,  an  orator,  and  a 
scholar  is  coextensive  with  the  civilized  world 

Mr.  Hiram  Ketchum,  in  his  eloquent  address  to  the  bar 
of  New  York  City  on  the  death  of  WEBSTER,  said: 

The  great  luminary  of  the  bar,  the  Senate,  and  the  council 
chamber  is  set  forever,  but  it  is  a  subject  of  rejoicing  that  it  is  set  in 
almost  supernatural  splendor,  obscured  by  no  cloud;  not  a  ray 
darkened. 

Mr.  WEBSTER  was  a  master  of  the  English  language — the 
good,  old-fashioned  Anglo-Saxon  kind.  In  his  demon-' 
stration  of  intricate  political  problems,  in  his  grand  efforts 
at  the  bar,  as  well  also  as  in  his  marvelous  literary  addresses, 
there  is  no  trace  of  " circuitus  verborum,"  nothing  peri 
phrastic;  while,  upon  the  other  hand,  he  could  never  have 
truthfully  said  of  himself,  ^brevis  esse  laboro,  obscurus 
fio  " — in  endeavoring  to  be  concise,  I  become  obscure — but 
yet  he  was  brilliant.  Milton,  on  the  great  handiwork  of 
Him  who  is  greater  than  all,  says: 

He  sovv'd  with  stars  the  heav'n. 

So  this  master  mind  on  great  occasions  bedecked  and 
beautified  the  literary,  the  professional,  the  national  firma 
ments  with  jewels  as  rare,  as  matchless  in  beauty  and 


1 92  Address  of  Mr.  Mitchell  on  the 

expression,  as  were  ever  coined  by  human  speech  or  fell 
from  mortal  tongue. 

In  WEBSTER'S  more  conspicuous  oratorical  efforts  were 
unified  the  various  arts  of  directness,  dignity,  pertinency, 
condensation,  energy,  persuasiveness,  grace,  and  power. 
Lacking,  perhaps,  somewhat  in  brilliancy  those  of  Clay,  in 
erudition  those  of  Everett  or  Sumner,  he  excelled  them  all 
in  irrefragible  logic,  in  solid  ability,  and  in  power  of  dem 
onstration. 

Macaulay,  in  speaking  of  Goldsmith,  said: 

He  was  a  great  and  perhaps  an  unequaled  master  of  the  arts  of 
selection  and  condensation. 

Among  the  statesmen  of  America  WEBSTER  in  this 
respect  perhaps  had  no  superior  and  but  one  equal.  Abra 
ham  Lincoln  was  the  peer  of  any  American  that  ever  lived 
in  respect  of  endowment  of  these  peculiar,  rare,  and  attract 
ive  qualities  of  mind. 

One  of  WEBSTER'S  most  gifted  contemporaries  and 
eulogists  said  of  him: 

More  than  any  living  man  he  has  instructed  the  whole  generation 
of  American  citizens  in  their  political  duties,  and  taught  the  young 
men  of  the  country  how  to  think  clearly,  reason  fairly,  and  clothe 
thought  in  the  most  simple  and  beautiful  English. 

What  more  exalted  passage  can  be  found  in  the  world's 
eloquent  literature  than  WEBSTER'S  closing  words  in  that 
memorable  address  on  the  settlement  of  New  England, 
delivered  at  Plymouth,  December  22,  1820,  when,  rising 
even  superior  to  himself,  with  a  beckoning  smile,  casting 
his  eyes  through  the  vanishing  twilight  as  it  gradually 
receded  before  the  dawn  of  approaching  years,  and  speaking 
as  though  inspired,  he  extended  a  cordial  welcome  to  the 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        193 

advancing    generations    of   the    future    in    these    sublime 
words : 

Advance,  then,  ye  future  generations!  We  would  hail  you  as  you 
rise  in  your  long  succession  to  fill  the  places  which  we  now  fill  and 
to  taste  the  blessings  of  existence,  where  we  are  passing,  and  soon 
shall  have  passed,  our  own  human  duration.  We  bid  you  welcome 
to  this  pleasant  land  of  the  fathers.  We  bid  you  welcome  to  the 
healthful  skies  and  verdant  fields  of  New  England.  We  greet  your 
accession  to  the  great  inheritance  which  we  have  enjoyed.  We  wel 
come  you  to  the  blessings  of  good  government  and  religious 
liberty.  We  welcome  you  to  the  treasures  of  science  and  the 
delights  of  learning.  We  welcome  you  to  the  transcendent  sweets 
of  domestic  life,  to  the  happiness  of  kindred,  and  parents,  and 
children.  We  welcome  you  to  the  immeasurable  blessings  of 
rational  existence,  the  immortal  hope  of  Christianity,  and  the  light 
of  everlasting  life. 

Or  where  else  in  all  the  choicest  national  panegyrics 
with  which  the  altar  of  any  nation  was  ever  decorated; 
where  among  all  the  beautiful  creations  with  which  the 
name  and  fame  of  nations  have  been  forever  embalmed  in 
human  speech;  where  in  the  most  classic  written  history 
or  in  the  most  erudite  national  essays  of  either  ancient  or 
modern  times,  is  to  be  found  a  passage  surpassing  in 
elegance  of  diction,  in  sublime  pathos,  in  superb  grandeur, 
in  matchless  eloquence,  that  of  the  closing  sentences  of 
WEBSTER'S  reply  to  Hayne: 

When  my  eyes  shall  be  turned  to  behold  for  the  last  time  the  sun 
in  heaven,  may  I  not  see  him  shining  on  the  broken  and  dishonored 
fragments  of  a  once  glorious  Union;  on  States  dissevered,  discordant, 
belligerent;  on  a  land  rent  with  civil  feuds,  or  drenched,  it  may  be, 
in  fraternal  blood!  Let  their  last  feeble  and  lingering  glance, 
rather,  behold  the  gorgeous  ensign  of  the  Republic,  now  known  and 
honored  throughout  the  earth,  still  full  high  advanced,  its  arms  and 
trophies  streaming  in  their  original  luster,  not  a  stripe  erased  or 
polluted,  noi  a  single  star  obscured — bearing  for  its  motto  no  such 
13  s— w 


194  Address  of  Mr.  Mitchell  on  the 

miserable  interrogatory  as,  What  is  all  this  wortJi  ?  nor  those  other 
words  of  delusion  and  folly,  Liberty  first,  and  Union+afterwards  ;  but 
everywhere,  spread  all  over  in  characters  of  living  light,  blazing 
on  all  its  ample  folds,  as  they  float  over  the  sea  and  over  the  land 
and  in  every  wind  under  the  whole  heavens,  that  other  sentiment, 
dear  to  every  true  American  heart — Liberty  and  Union,  now  and 
forever,  one  and  inseparable! 

His  oration  of  December  22,  1820,  at  Plymouth,  on  the 
bicentennial  anniversary  of  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims; 
that  of  June  17,  1825,  at  the  laying  of  the  corner  stone  of 
the  Bunker  Hill  Monument;  on  the  lyth  of  June,  1843,  a^ 
its  completion;  on  August  2,  1826,  in  Faneuil  Hall,  com 
memorative  of  the  lives  and  services  of  John  Adams  and 
Thomas  Jefferson,  two  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde 
pendence,  and  each  an  ex-President  of  the  United  States, 
and  who  had,  on  our  national  anniversary,  died  within  a 
few  hours  of  each  other;  his  oration  in  this  city  in  1832  at 
the  services  commemoratory  of  the  birth  of  George  Wash 
ington;  his  eulogies  on  Mason  and  Story,  on  Calhoun  and 
Taylor;  his  grand  constitutional  arguments  in  the  judicial 
courts  of  the  country;  his  able  and  patriotic  speeches  in 
the  two  Houses  of  Congress  on  an  infinite  variety  of 
topics — on  finance,  on  our  foreign  relations,  on  commerce, 
foreign  and  domestic,  on  naturalization  and  bankruptcy, 
on  the  Mexican  war,  on  the  Texan  question,  on  the  exclu 
sion  of  slavery  from  the  Territories,  his  reply  to  Hayne, 
and  various  other  notable  speeches;  and  finally  his  last 
national  address,  delivered  on  the  4th  day  of  July,  1851, 
at  the  laying  of  the  corner  stone  of  the  addition  to  the 
Capitol  of  the  United  States — will  all  forever  live  on  his 
tory's  brightest  pages,  embellishing  them  with  their  beauty 
and  embalming  them  with  their  fragrance,  as  specimens  of 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        195 

erudite,  captivating,  chaste  oratory,  unexcelled  by  that  of 
any  country  or  of  any  age. 

And  although  the  luster  reflected  on  his  name  by  these 
great  arguments  and  orations,  and 'the  fame  which  his  half 
a  century  of  highly  distinguished  professional  life  and  his 
thirty  years  of  invaluable  service  to  the  State,  had  made 
him  conspicuous  in  the  history  of  his  time  as  lawyer, 
statesman,  orator,  had  secured  for  him  the  unstinted  admi 
ration  and  seemingly  the  unfading  gratitude  of  his  coun 
trymen,  yet  some  would  have  us  believe,  even  at  this  late 
day,  that  this  grand  monument  which  he  had  builded  to 
himself  was,  in  the  gathering  shades  of  a  waning  life,  shat 
tered  and  destroyed  by  a  single  destructive  blow  wielded 
by  the  arm  of  its  own  great  builder.  They  would  have  us 
believe  that  his  speech  in  this  body  of  March  7,  1850,  prac 
tically  confirmed  by  that  of  June  17,  1850,  and  the  senti 
ments  of  which  were  substantially  repeated  in  his  speech 
on  the  compromise  bill,  July  17,  1850,  had  wrested  immor 
tality  from  a  name  otherwise  immortal,  and  that  by  this 
one  act  the  glory  thence  hitherto  attaching  to  his  name 
had  departed  forever. 

True  it  is,  there  is  some  room  for  criticism,  and  ap 
parent  grounds  for  insistence  that  the  opinions  of  Mr. 
WEBSTER  on  the  subject  of  slavery  in  the  Territories,  as 
shown  by  these  speeches,  had  undergone  a  change  from 
those  held  by  him  in  former  years,  and  so  vigorously 
asserted  and  ably  and  patriotically  maintained  in  his 
speech  in  relation  to  the  exclusion  of  slavery  from  the  Ter 
ritories  delivered  August  12,  1848,  on  the  bill  to  organize 
a  government  for  the  Territory  of  Oregon,  and  in  many 
former  speeches. 


196  Address  of  Mr.  Mitchell  on  the 

In  that  of  August  12,  1848,  Mr.  WEBSTER  made  the  fol 
lowing  declaration: 

My  objection  to  slavery  is  irrespective  of  lines  and  points  of  lati 
tude;  it  takes  in  the  whole  country  and  the  whole  question.  I  am 
opposed  to  it  in  every  shape  and  in  every  qualification,  and  am 
against  any  compromise  of  the  question.  *  *  *  I  will  never 
vote  to  extend  the  area  of  slavery. 

And  again  in  the  same  debate  he  said: 

I  shall  consent  to  no  extension  of  the  area  of  slavery  upon  this 
continent,  nor  to  any  increase  of  slave  representation  in  the  other 
House  of  Congress. 

This,  however,  was  but  a  repetition  of  many  of  his  pre 
vious  declarations  on  the  same  subject. 

His  subsequent  opposition,  however,  to  the  Wilmot  pro 
viso  and  his  support  of  the  Soule  amendment  present  an 
apparent  inconsistency  with  his  previous  record.  But 
when  viewed  in  the  light  of  his  vigorous  and  persistent 
contention  that  there  were  natural,  and  to  his  mind  conclu 
sive,  existent  reasons  and  causes  sufficient  to  forever  ex 
clude  African  slavery  from  the  Territories,  to  which  this 
proviso  and  this  amendment  were  intended  to  apply;  that 
their  assertion  was  unnecessary  to  prevent  the  introduction 
of  slavery  into  those  Territories,  and  would  do  no  good,  but 
on  the  contrary,  in  his  judgment,  be  a  source  of  humilia 
tion  and  irritation  to  the  people  of  the  South,  are  we  not 
bound  to  accerrd  to  him  honorable  motives  and  consistency 
of  action  in  this  regard,  even  though  we  are  unable  to 
accept  his  assumptions  and  arguments  as  valid?  And  this 
is  the  conclusion  I  long  since  reached  in  regard  to  this 
whole  matter. 

And  though  Whittier  may  have  written  his  "Ichabod," 
and  though  the  poetic  beauty  and  power  of  that  lyric  dirge 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        197 

and  the  honest  criticisms  of  patriotic  men,  coupled  with 
the  hypercriticisms  of  an  unjust  and  carping  world,  may 
for  a  time  have  cast  a  shadow  over  a  planet  of  the  first 
magnitude,  may  have  partially  obscured  for  a  brief  period 
the  splendor  of  its  former  glory,  I,  while  not  indorsing 
some  of  the  sentiments  and  expressions  it  contains,  am 
not  of  those  who  can  in  that  speech,  by  any  fair  construc 
tion  of  which  it  is  susceptible,  taken  as  a  whole  and  inter 
preted  as  it  should  be  in  the  light  of  the  accompanying 
assumptions  and  arguments,  see  any  justifiable  cause  for 
detracting  from  or  for  casting  any  just  reflection  on  the 
name  or  fame  of  DANIEL  WEBSTER.  But,  on  the  con 
trary,  I  see  in  the  ceremonials  of  this  hour  impartial  his 
tory  to-day  rising  in  its  majesty  above  the  clamor  of  the 
discordant  elements  of  those  times,  and,  wielding  the  pen 
of  justice,  rejecting  the  insinuations  of  "Ichabod,"  as  its 
distinguished  author  himself  in  a  great  measure  rejected 
them  before  his  death,  and  the  name  and  fame  of  WEB 
STER,  notwithstanding  this  speech,  shining  again  serenely 
in  the  firmament  of  our  nation's  history. 

If  the  sentiments  expressed  in  that  speech  on  the  subject 
of  slavery  as  it  then  existed  in  this  country  must  be  re 
garded  as  a  cloud  upon  an  otherwise  immortal  name,  then 
with  much  more  force  might  it  be  justly  held  that  the  acts 
on  that  subject  of  the  great  men  who  framed  our  Consti 
tution  in  giving  slavery  recognition  should  consign  their 
names  to  lasting  infamy. 

WEBSTER  in  that  speech  but  dealt  historically  with  the 
subject  of  slavery  as  it  existed  from  the  earliest  history  of 
the  world,  and  as  it  then  existed  in  the  United  States — in 
virtue  of  the  fact  that  the  convictions  of  the  fathers  on  that 


198  Address  of  Mr.  Mitchell  on  the 

subject,  that  is,  as  to  the  best  mode  of  dealyig  with  what 
they  all  then  regarded  as  a  great  evil,  had  caused  them  to 
recognize  it  in  the  fundamental  law  of  the  land.  The 
same  course  of  reasoning  by  which  WEBSTER  is  condemned 
for  the  sentiments  contained  in  that  speech  would  tarnish 
the  names  of  the  thirteen  Northern  Senators,  including 
those  of  John  A.  Dix  and  Daniel  S.  Dickinson,  of  New 
York;  Levi  Woodbury  and  Charles  G.  Atherton,  of  New 
Hampshire;  John  M.  Niles,  of  Connecticut;  John  Fairfield, 
of  Maine;  James  Buchanan  and  Daniel  Sturgeon,  of  Penn 
sylvania,  and  Benjamin  Tappan  and  William  Allen,  of  Ohio, 
all  of  whom  voted  for  the  admission  of  Texas  into  the 
Union  as  a  slave  State,  with  a  provision  attached  making 
it  possible  for  four  more  slave  States  to  be  carved  out  of  it. 

WEBSTER'S  public  life  presents  overwhelming  evidence 
of  the  fact  that  he  was  unalterably  opposed  to  the  exten 
sion  of  African  slavery  into  the  Territories  of  the  United 
States. 

The  sentiment  of  the  South  in  regard  to  slavery  had 
materially  changed  from  that  held  by  the  framers  of  the 
Constitution.  When  the  Constitution  was  framed,  its 
authors  had  declared  without  dissent  or  qualification  that 
slavery  was  an  evil,  moral  and  political,  but  they  recog 
nized  its  existence  in  the  fundamental  law;  whereas,  in 
1848,  John  C.  Calhoun,  the  great  Southern  leader,  the 
master  mind  of  the  South,  the  great  exponent  of  Southern 
sentiment,  in  his  place  in  the  Senate  on  August  10,  on  the 
bill  providing  a  Territorial  government  for  Oregon,  made 
this  startling  declaration : 

Slavery  has  benefited  all  mankind,  all  countries  but  the  South. 
Slavery,  like  the  waters  of  the  Nile,  has  spread  its  fertilizing  influ 
ence  over  all  the  world. 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        199 

WEBSTER,  therefore,  with  other  Northern  statesmen  of 
his  time,  was  brought  face  to  face  with  a  great  controversy 
that  threatened  the  dissolution  of  the  Union.  He  had  to 
contend  with  a  changed  sentiment,  a  hostile  and  formida 
ble  power  in  the  South,  and  in  his  intense  desire  to  prevent 
secession  and  a  bloody  war  and  to  preserve  the  Union 
intact  he  compromised  in  speech  and  act  to  an  extent  that 
brought  upon  him  the  condemnation  of  many  well-mean 
ing  men." 

The  great  purpose,  it  seems  to  me,  of  Mr.  WEBSTER'S 
speech  of  March  7,  1850,  was  the  preservation  of  the 
Union.  He  seemed  to  be  impressed  for  years  with  an  ap 
prehension  that  an  attempt  to  dissolve  the  Union  peaceably 
might  be  made,  and  that  such  an  experiment  would  in  his 
judgment  surely  result  in  bringing  on  a  bloody  and  destruc 
tive  war,  and  in  that  very  speech  he  uttered  these  remark 
able  and  prophetic  words: 

Mr.  President,  I  should  prefer  to  have  heard  from  every  member 
on  this  floor  declarations  of  opinion  that  this  Union  could  never  be 
dissolved  than  the  declaration  of  opinion  that  in  any  case,  under  the 
pressure  of  any  circumstances,  such  a  dissolution  was  possible.  We 
hear  with  distress  and  anxiety  the  word  "secession."  especially  when 
it  falls  from  the  lips  of  those  who  are  patriotic  and  known  to  the 
country  and  known  all  over  the  world  for  their  political  services. 
Secession!  Secession!  Peaceable  secession  !  Sir,  your  eyes  and  mine 
are  never  destined  to  see  that  miracle.  The  dismemberment  of  this 
vast  country  without  convulsion !  The  breaking  up  of  the  foun 
tains  of  the  great  deep  without  ruffling  the  surface !  Who  is  so 
foolish,  I  beg  everybody's  pardon,  as  to  expect  to  see  any  such  thing! 

Sir,  he  who  sees  these  States,  now  revolving  in  harmony  around  a 
common  center,  and  expects  to  see  them  quit  their  places  and  fly  off 
without  convulsion,  may  look  the  next  hour  to  see  the  heavenly 
bodies  rush  from  their  spheres  and  jostle  against  each  other  in  the 
realms  of  space  without  causing  the  wreck  of  the  universe.  There 


200  Address  of  Mr.  Mitchell  on  the 

can  be  no  such  thing  as  peaceable  secession.  Peaceable  secession  is 
an  utter  impossibility.  Is  the  great  Constitution  urfder  which  we 
live,  covering  the  whole  country,  to  be  thawed  and  melted  away  by 
secession  as  the  snows  on  the  mountain  melt  under  the  influence  of 
the  vernal  sun,  disappear  almost  unobserved,  and  run  oft"?  No,  sir! 
No,  sir!  I  will  not  state  what  might  produce  the  disruption  of  the 
Union;  but,  sir,  I  see  as  plainly  as  I  see  the  sun  in  heaven  what  that 
disruption  must'  produce.  I  see  that  it  must  produce  war,  and  such 
a  war  as  I  will  not  describe  in  its  twofold  character. 

Some  men  accounted  great  rise  above  their  fellows  in 
but  a  single  department  or  line  of  professional,  scientific, 
or  public  life — some  as  lawyers  at  the  bar,  others  as  states 
men  in  the  halls  of  legislation,  while  others  excel  only  in 
the  more  intricate  fields  of  diplomacy.  WEBSTER  excelled 

in  all. 

Excelling-  others,  these  were  great ; 
Thou,  greater  still,  must  these  excel. 

This  master  mind  left  the  lasting  impress  of  its  great 
ness  not  only  on  the  records  of  his  profession  as  a  lawyer 
and  on  the  journals  of  both  branches  of  Congress,  but  on  the 
diplomatic  pages  of  his  country's  history.  The  historian 
tells  us  his  diplomatic  discussion  with  Lord  Ashburton, 
which  led  to  the  adoption  of  the  Webster- Ashburton  treaty, 
resulting  in  the  final  settlement  of  the  disturbing  contro 
versy  relative  to  the  northeastern  boundary  of  the  United 
States,  was,  to  use  the  language  of  the  historic  writer,  "as 
able  as  were  the  questions  involved  intricate." 

True  it  is,  although  the  treaty  settled  a  controversy 
that  had  existed  and  been  a  source  of  aggravating  irritation 
between  this  country  and  Great  Britain  from  the  date  of 
the  treaty  of  peace  in  1783,  a  period  of  nearly  sixty  years, 
and  although  after  long  and  able  discussion  in  this  body  it 
had  received  five-sixths  of  all  the  votes  of  the  Senate  in 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        201 

favor  of  its  ratification,  it  was  subsequently  •  bitterly 
assailed  here  and  in  the  House  of  Representatives  and 
elsewhere,  notably  by  Senators  Dix  and  Dickinson,  of 
New  York,  in  the  Senate,  and  Ingersoll,  of  Pennsylvania, 
in  the  House,  and  Mr.  WEBSTER,  as  one  of  its  authors, 
was  severely  arraigned  on  the  alleged  grounds — 

First.  For  its  unconstitutional  surrender,  as  claimed,  of 
a  portion  of  the  State  of  Maine  and  certain  strategic  mili 
tary  points; 

Second.  Because  of  the  mode  in  which  the  subject  of 
the  search  of  vessels  suspected  of  being  engaged  in  the 
slave  trade  on  the  coast  of  Africa  was  disposed  of;  and 

Third.  Because  it  was  insisted  no  proper  redress  had 
been  obtained  for  the  violation  of  the  territorial  rights  of 
the  United  States  in  the  destruction  of  the  steamboat 
Caroline  in  the  harbor  of  Schlosser  by  a  British  force  in 
December,  1837,  and  which  subsequently  led  to  the  arrest 
of  one  Alexander  McLeod,  a  British  subject,  composing 
part  of  the  force,  by  the  authorities  of  the  State  of  New 
York,  for  an  alleged  murder  committed  by  him  on  that 
occasion. 

But  all  these  objections  are  to  my  mind  completely 
answered  and  absolutely  overthrown  by  Mr.  WEBSTER 
himself  in  his  two-days  speech  in  this  body  in  defense  of 
that  treaty,  April  6  and  7,  1846.  In  that  great  speech 
Mr.  WEBSTER  demonstrated  beyond  all  question  the  just 
ness  of  the  appeal  contained  in  its  closing  sentences,  when 
in  concluding  he  said: 

I  am  willing  to  appeal  to  the  public  men  of  the  age  whether,  in 
1842  and  in  the  city  of  Washington,  something  was  not  done  for  the 
suppression  of  crime,  for  the  true  exposition  of  the  principles  of  pub 
lic  law,  for  the  freedom  and  security  of  commerce  on  the  ocean,  and 
for  the  peace  of  the  world. 


202  Address  of  Mr.  Mitchell  on  the 

Were  "I  disposed,  or  if  proper  on  this  occasion,  to  in 
dulge  in  criticism,  the  one  thing  in  Mr.  WEBSTER'S  public 
career,  as  I  understand  it,  with  which  I  should  find  most 
fault  was  his  attitude  on  the  Oregon  question. 

Mr.  WEBSTER,  I  regret,  did  not  estimate  Oregon  Terri 
tory  at  its  true  merit.  He  did  not  seem  to  comprehend  its 
importance  as  an  integral  part  of  the  Republic,  either  in  a 
domestic  or  an  international  sense,  and  he  failed  utterly 
and  absolutely  to  properly  assert  and  defend  our  rights  to 
that  Territory,  either  as  Senator  or  as  Secretary  of  State. 
He  was  indisposed  always  to  give  any  countenance  whatever 
to  our  claim  to  territory  farther  north  than  the  forty-ninth 
parallel.  And  when  President  Polk,  in  his  message  in 
1845,  declared  that,  in  his  judgment,  our  title  to  the  whole 
of  the  country — that  is,  to  fifty-four  degrees  forty  minutes — 
was  "clear  and  unquestionable,"  Mr.  WEBSTER,  in  his 
place  in  the  Senate,  not  only  took  issue,  but  insisted  we 
had  no  claim  whatever,  nothing  to  arbitrate  or  settle,  be 
yond  the  forty-ninth  parallel.  He  insisted  this  boundary 
had  been  established  by  the  treaty  of  Utrecht  and  assented 
to  by  the  people  of  the  United  States.  But  not  only  so; 
he  left  even  our  rights  to  the  south  of  the  line  in  doubt, 
and  suggested  that  should  the  forty-ninth  parallel  be  recog 
nized  there  would  still  be  left  open  for  negotiation,  arbitra 
tion,  and  settlement  the  right  of  Great  Britain  to  the  use, 
either  permanently  or  for  a  term  of  years,  of  the  Columbia 
River,  and  also,  to  use  his  own  language,  "in  regard  to  all 
that  respects  straits  and  sounds  and  islands  in  the  neighbor 
ing  seas,"  referring  evidently  to  the  Strait  of  San  Juan  de 
Fuca  and  the  waters  and  islands  of  Puget  Sound. 

It  is  not  generally  believed  that  Mr.  WEBSTER  in  dealing 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        203 

with  the  Oregon  question  either  exhibited  that  knowledge 
of  facts  or  the  possession  of  that  faculty  of  prescience  gen 
erally  so  characteristic  of  and  attributed  to  him.  This  is 
clearly  indicated  by  a  remark  in  his  speech  in  the  Senate 
of  April  6  and  7,  1846,  in  defense  of  the  Treaty  of  Wash 
ington.  In  that  treaty  our  right  to  float  logs  down  the 
river  St.  Johns,  through  the  province  of  New  Brunswick, 
to  the  Bay  of  Fundy  had  been  secured,  and  Mr.  WEBSTER, 
in  referring  to  what  he  regarded  as  its  immense  value,  said: 

We  have  heard  a  vast  deal  lately  of  the  immense  value  and  im 
portance  of  the  river  Columbia  and  its  navigation,  but  I  will  under 
take  to  say  that  for  all  purposes  of  human  use  the  river  St.  Johns  is 
worth  a  hundred  times  as  much  as  the  Columbia  is  or  ever  will  be. 
*  *  *  It  (the  St.  Johns)  is  navigable  from  the  sea  and  by  steam-  •. 
boats  a  greater  distance  than  the  Columbia. 

The  naked  fact  is,  Mr.  President,  the  river  St.  Johns  was 
not  then,  is  not  now,  and  never  will  be,  for  any  consider 
able  distance,  more  than  a  highway  for  rafts  of  logs  from 
the  forests  of  Maine  and  New  Brunswick  to  the  city  of 
St.  Johns  and  the  Bay  of  Fundy.  And  the  statement  of  Mr. 
WEBSTER,  it  is  submitted,  was  not  warranted  by  the  then 
existing  facts,  nor  has  it  ever  been  confirmed,  and  never 
will  be,  by  subsequent  history.  The  vast  commerce  borne 
to-day  upon  the  waters  of  the  Columbia  River  and  the  im 
measurable  possibilities  as  to  the  future,  which  all  now 
concede,  present  conclusive  evidence  as  to  how  very  much 
at  times  even  the  greatest  of  public  men  may  be  mistaken. 

That  DANIEL  WEBSTER,  great  as  he  was,  had  his  weak 
nesses  and  failings,  as  every  mortal  man,  however  great  or 
good  he  may  be,  has  in  greater  or  less  degree,  no  one  will 
controvert.  But  that  these,  unlike  the  weaknesses  and 
failings  of  those  less  conspicuous,  in  either  private  or 


204  Address  of  Mr.  Mitchell  on  the 

public  life,  were  greatly  exaggeiated,  truthful^  history  at 
tests.  One  of  his  contemporaries,  eminent  in  his  time,  in 
an  eloquent  eulogium  delivered  at  his  death,  in  delicately 
referring  to  this  aspect  of  the  great  statesman's  life,  and 
after  premising  it  with  a  declaration  that  it  was  due  to 
truth  and  sound  morality  to  say  that  no  public  services,  no 
eminent  talent,  can  or  should  sanctify  errors,  said; 

To  say  that  he  had  no  weaknesses  and  failings  would  be  to  say 
that  he  was  not  human.  These  failings  have  been  published  to  the 
world,  and  his  friends  would  have  no  reason  to  complain  of  that  if 
they  had  not  been  exaggerated. 

And  after  further  stating  that  he  had  a  close  personal 
intimacy  with  Mr.  WEBSTER  in  private  and  domestic  life 
for  a  period  of  over  twenty-five  years,  and  had  during  that 
time  received  numerous  letters  from  him,  he  said  : 

I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  him  often  in  private  circles 
and  at  the  festive  board  where  some  of  our  sessions  were  not  short, 
but  neither  in  his  letters  nor  conversation  have  I  ever  known  him  to 
express  an  impure  thought,  an  immoral  sentiment,  or  use  profane 
language.  Neither  in  writing  nor  in  conversation  have  I  everknown 
him  to  assail  any  man.  No  man,  in  my  hearing,  was  ever  slandered 
or  spoken  ill  of  by  DANIEL  WEBSTER.  Never  in  my  life  have  I  known 
a  man  whose  conversation  was  uniformly  so  unexceptionable  in  tone 
and  edifying  in  character.  No  man  had  more  tenderness  of  feeling 
than  DANIEL  WEBSTER. 

On  this  same  occasion  J.  Prescott  Hall  pronounced  a 
eulogy,  in  which,  among  other  things,  he  said: 

1  have  partaken  of  his  innocent  and  manly  amusements;  I  hive 
walked  with  him  at  twilight  upon  the  shore  of  the  "far-resounding 
sea;"  I  have  seen  him  in  the  forum  and  the  Senate  Chamber,  his 
gigantic  intellect  towering  above  ail  his  compeers,  and  under  no  cir 
cumstances  and  on  no  occasion  did  I  ever  know  him  to  forget  his 
own  dignity  or  cease  to  impress,  if  not  overwhelm,  with  the  sense  of 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        205 

his  surpassing  greatness.  From  his  lips  I  never  heard  an  irreverent, 
a  profane,  or  an  unseemly  expression,  while  his  playful  wit.  his  deep 
philosophy,  his  varied  acquirements,  and  unrivaled  powers  of  conver 
sation  are  among  the  choicest  treasures  of  my  recollection. 

One  writer  truthfully  says: 

Many    take   pleaure   in    speaking    about    the    weaknesses    of  an 
exalted  character. 

That  WEBSTER  was,  in  a  measure,  incautious,  perhaps 
to  an  extent  improvident,  in  personal  monetary  matters, 
seems  to  be  conceded.  This  failing,  however,  it  is  not 
believed  was  the  result  of  any  lack  of  personal  integrity, 
but  rather  of  indifference  as  to  his  own  individual  neces 
sities  and  comforts,  present  and  future,  coupled,  doubtless, 
in  a  great  measure  with  the  fact  that  his  life,  professionally  ^ 
and  as  a  public  man,  was  devoted  to  a  service  the  least  of 
the  purposes  of  which  was  that  of  getting  money,  much 
less  getting  rich. 

While,    therefore,    we    would    reject    the    Shakespearean 
philosophy  suggested  in  the  phrase — 

Condemn  the  fault  and  not  the  actor  of  it  ? 
Why,  every  fault's  condemned  ere  it  be  done — 

but  rather  remembering  the  beautiful  sentiment  of 
Moore — 

As  sunshine  broken  in  the  rill, 

Though  turned  astray,  is  sunshine  still — 

may  it  not  be  said,  and  truly  and  justly  said,  now  that  the 
rains  of  forty-two  summers  and  the  driving  snows  of  as 
many  winters  have  beat  upon  the  tomb  of  the  great 
departed  and  we  come  to-day  to  bear  fitting  testimony  to 
his  name  and  memory  by  placing  in  the  Statuary  Hall  of 
this  great  Capitol  his  marble  bust,  there  to  remain  while 
this  proud  edifice  shall  stand,  that  the  delinquencies  of 


206  Address  of  Mr.  Mitchell  on  the 

DANIEL  WEBSTER,  if  any,  whatever  they  may  have  been, 
whether  moral  or  political,  whether  venial  or  otherwise, 
have,  by  common  consent,  by  universal  acquiescence,  in 
the  light  of  his  grand  intellectual  powers,  which  none  can 
dispute,  which  all  must  acknowledge,  and  in  view  of  his 
great  public  service  to  the  State  which  entitl'es  him  to 
universal  commendation,  been  condoned? 

The  Senate  of  the  United  States  to-day  pauses  in  its  de 
liberations  and  does  honor  to  DANIEL  WEBSTER,  a  former 
member  of  this  body,  distinguished,  illustrious,  preeminent 
among  the  men  of  his  time.  And  in  the  Statuary  Hall  of 
this  great  Capitol,  by  common  consent  of  the  people  and 
government  of  the  State,  of  his  nativity,  of  the  people  of 
the  State  of  his  adoption,  and  of  the  Government  and 
people  of  the  United  States,  he  takes  his  place  among  those 
who  are  deemed  fit  to  stand  in  silent  representation  in  that 
historic  presence. 

And  when  we,  the  representatives  in  this  Chamber  to 
day  of  forty-four  sovereign  States,  composing  a  nation  the 
greatest,  the  grandest  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  shall  have 
passed  away;  when  our  names,  or  at  least  the  names  of 
most  of  us,  shall  be  no  longer  remembered  among  men, 
the  name  of  WEBSTER  will  live  in  history,  and  will  reflect 
unfading  glory  on  the  pages  of  the  future  historian. 

And  when  generations  yet  unborn  shall  walk  through 
these  historic  halls,  and  shall  pause  as  they  come  and  go 
in  yonder  part  of  this  great  edifice,  to  look  upon  the 
speechless  marble  representations  of  the  great  men  of  this 
and  former  times,  they  will,  in  contemplating  in  the  light 
of  faithful  and  accurate  history  the  lives  and  characters  of 
the  men  there  represented,  without  hesitation  and  with 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        207 

common  consent  accord  to  WEBSTER  a  place  first  among 
the  great  intellects  of  departed  statesmen.  Of  course,  ris 
ing  above  him  in  other  and  different  attributes  and  in 
political  and  patriotic  attainments  and  power  and  in  the 
•estimate  of  peoples  and  of  nations,  will  ever  stand  pre 
eminent,  rightfully  demanding  and  forever  receiving  the 
first  consideration  and  the  unrestrained  and  enthusiastic 
plaudits  of  all  patriots,  of  every  lover  of  human  liberty,  of 
every  coming  generation — George  Washington  and  Abra 
ham  Lincoln. 


208  Address  of  Mr.  Lodge  on  the 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  LODGE. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT:  Some  time  ago  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States  decreed  that  statues  of  distinguished  Ameri 
cans  presented  by  the  States  to  the  nation  should  be  placed 
in  the  old  Chamber  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 
That  hall  is  a  very  fine  one,  and  it  may  be  doubted 
whether  its  beauty  has  been  enhanced  by  the  collection  of 
statues  now  ranged  about  its  walls.  The  hall,  both  in  its 
proportion  and  its  design,  is  simple,  dignified,  and  harmo 
nious;  but  no  one,  I  imagine,  would  think  of  applying 
those  adjectives  to  the  collection  of  statues  which  it  con 
tains.  They  certainly  are  not  harmonious,  for  they  are  of 
all  sizes,  diverse  heights,  and  different  substances.  There 
is,  to  be  sure,  a  certain  uniformity  of  artistic  execution, 
but  even  in  this  direction  the  uniformity  is  not  complete, 
for  among  the  figures  there  are  some  good  statues.  The 
most  remarkable  thing  about  the  collection,  however,  is  the 
choice  of  subjects,  which  ranges  from  George  Washington 
to  a  governor  of  very  passing  if  not  purely  local  reputa 
tion.  This  offers  certainly  a  wide  range  of  selection,  but  it 
seems  to  lead  to  some  confusion  as  to  what  entitles  a  man 
to  have  his  statue  in  the  national  Capitol  when  we  consider 
who  have  been  omitted  and  who  let  in. 

In  view  of  these  facts,  therefore,  it  is  a  peculiar  pleasure 
to  receive  to-day  from  the  State  of  New  Hampshire  two 
statues  which  rightfully  belong  in  any  place  set  apart  to 
commemorate  the  distinguished  men  who  have  served  the 
Republic.  One  of  these  two  was  a  soldier,  conspicuous 
among  those  who  established  by  arms  the  independence 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        209 

of  the  United  States.  He  sprang  from  that  sturdy  stock 
which  brought  to  the  north  of  Ireland  the  blood  of  the 
Scotch  Covenanters  and  of  Cromwell's  Ironsides.  He  was 
of  that  race  of  men  who  flung  back  the  forces  of  the 
Stuarts  in  the  desperate  siege  of  Londonderry,  and  who 
have  played  such  a  noted  part  in  the  history  of  this  coun 
try  as  soldiers,  statesmen,  and  pioneers.  New  Hampshire 
to-day  places  his  statue  in  the  national  Capitol,  but  the 
American  people  will  always  think  of  JOHN  STARK,  not 
in  the  cold  repose  of  bronze  or  marble,  but  as  he  looked 
leading  the  van  through  snow,  and  sleet,  and  darkness 
when  Washington  saved  the  Revolution  at  Trenton,  or 
still  more  as  he  was  when,  blackened  with  powder,  he 
charged  with  his  men  upon  the  British  lines  at  Bennington. 

But  it  is  not  for  me  to  dwell  upon  the  services  of  this 
brave  soldier  of  the  Revolution.  That  more  fittingly 
belongs  to  the  Senators  of  his  own  State.  New  Hamp 
shire,  however,  presents  the  statue  of  not  only  JOHN 
STARK,  but  also  that  of  a  famous  lawyer,  statesman,  and 
orator,  DANIEL  WEBSTER,  one  of  the  greatest  names  in 
our  national  history.  In  New  Hampshire  WEBSTER  was 
born  and  bred,  and  it  is  most  fitting  that  she  should  give 
his  statue  to  the  nation.  There  he  first  practiced  law,  and 
thence  he  was  first  sent  to  Congress ;  but  his  later  career 
and  his  great  fame  belong  to  Massachusetts,  the  State 
which  he  served  and  honored  and  which  loved  and  honored 
him  for  so  many  years.  We  may  well  pause  a  moment  in 
the  business  of  the  day  to  look  back  at  such  a  man  and 
such  a  career. 

Nature  was  generous  almost  without  stint  to  WEBSTER. 
He  was  endowed  with  marvelous  gifts,  both  physical  and 
14  s — w 


210  Address  of  Mr.  Lodge  on  the 

mental.  The  splendid  lines  of  Shakespeare  so  often  abused 
in  eulogy  could  be  applied  to  him  without  either  exaggera 
tion  or  bad  taste.  He  in  very  truth  had— 

The  front  of  Jove  himself; 
An  eye  like  Mars,  to  threaten  and  command; 
A  station  like  the  herald  Mercury, 
New-lighted  on  a  heaven-kissing  hill ; 
A  combination,  and  a  form,  indeed, 
Where  every  god  did  seem  to  set  his  seal, 
To  give  the  world  assurance  of  a  man. 

It  were  much  to  be  wished  that  some  painter  or  sculptor 
could  set  him  before  our  eyes  as  Hamlet  beheld  his  father, 

even — 

In  his  habit  as  he  lived. 

And  with  these  physical  gifts,  which  WEBSTER  had  in 
such  large  measure,  there  went  also  a  personal  charm  as 
strong  as  it  was  impalpable,  something  quite  apart  from 
the  intellect,  and  which  is  too  often  overlooked  by  the 
biographer  and  historian.  From  the  day  when  as  a  small 
boy  he  sat  by  the  roadside  and  read  the  Bible  to  the  admir 
ing  teamsters  who  stopped  to  water  their  horses,  or  went  to 
the  fair  and  spent  not  only  his  own  money  but  his 
brother's,  WEBSTER  was  followed  and  admired,  supported 
and  sustained,  by  hundreds  of  men  and  women  who  asked 
nothing  more  than  to  be  able  to  serve  and  love  and  follow 
him.  He  awed  and  impressed  the  multitude  who  merely 
saw  and  heard  him.  He  charmed  and  fascinated  those 
with  whom  he  came  in  closer  touch. 

At  the  end  of  his  life,  wearied  and  disappointed  in  his 
immediate  ambition,  he  declared  that  "law  was  uncertain 
and  politics  utterly  vain."  Yet  his  career  had  been 
crowded  with  all  that  men  most  desire.  He  had  stood  at 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.       211 

the  head  of  the  bar  of  the  United  States.  He  had  had  all 
that  his  great  profession  could  give  of  renown  and  achieve 
ment.  No  arguments  before  our  highest  court  have  a 
fame  equal  to  some  of  his,  and  he  has  left  in  his  works  the 
greatest  speech  to  a  jury  in  the  language.  As  strong  in 
argument  as  it  is  powerful  in  its  appeal  to  the  emotions,  the 
diction  as  beautiful  as  the  style  is  finished,  the  speech 
which  avenged  the  murder  of  Stephen  White  stands  unsur 
passed.  For  nearly  thirty  years  in  the  politics  which  he 
called  "utterly  vain"  he  filled  a  place  and  wielded  an  in 
fluence  unsurpassed  by  any  other  man  in  a  generation 
which  included  Clay  and  Calhoun.  As  an  orator  he  had 
no  rival,  and  the  literary  quality  of  his  speeches  is  so  fine 
that  they  are  repeated  and  familiar  to-day,  while  those 
of  his  great  antagonists  are  'scarcely  read  except  by  stu 
dents. 

The  disappointment  and  regret  of  his  last  days  came 
from  the  fact  that  he  had  failed  to  gain  the  one  great  office 
which  he  felt  should  have  been  his.  The  ambition  was 
honorable,  as  the  disappointment  was  natural.  He  could 
not  see,  as  we  see,  how  completely  fame  and  achievement 
like  his  overshadow  and  outweigh  the  mere  office  for  which 
he  longed.  Schoolboys  declaim  his  sentences;  lawyers 
quote  his  opinions,  and  orators  and  statesmen  appeal  to  his 
arguments  to  uphold  their  own,  while  some  of  the  men 
who  grasped  the  glittering  prize  for  which  he  strove  in 
vain  are  little  more  than  names  in  the  catalogue  of  history. 

His  speeches,  his  writings,  his  work,  are  all  part  of  our 
history  and  our  literature,  and  will  so  remain.  The  mem 
ory  of  the  man  fills  almost  as  great  a  place  now  as  his 
living  presence  did  fifty  years  ago.  Of  all  the  men  whose 


212  Address  of  Mr.  Lodge  on  the 

statues  have  been  placed  or  are  yet  to  be  placed  in  yonder 
hall  there  is  not  one  so  identified  with  this  national  Capitol 
as  WEBSTER.  The  old  House  recalls  the  speech  for  the 
Greeks  and  the  denunciation  of  the  Triple  Alliance.  The 
first  thing  that  is  said  to  any  stranger  who  enters  the 
Supreme  Court  room  is  that  this  was  the  spot  where 
WEBSTER  replied  to  Hayne.  The  new  wings  remind  us 
that  it  was  his  stately  eloquence  which  commemorated  the 
laying  of  their  corner-stones. 

It  is  most  fit  that  it  should  be  so.  WEBSTER'S  memory 
ought  to  be  part  of  the  Capitol,  which  stands  as  the 
symbol  and  expression  of  the  National  Government,  for  to 
the  nation  and  to  the  Union  the  love  of  his  life  and  the 
best  work  of  his  noble  intellect  were  given. 

WEBSTER  is  too  great  a  man  to  treat  with  the  contempt 
which  is  implied  by  mere  eulogy  and  the  consequent 
implication  that  he  was  faultless.  He  had  serious  imper 
fections  and  grave  moral  defects.  This  is  not  the  place  to 
enter  into  any  analysis  of  either  the  strength  or  the  weak 
ness  of  his  character.  History  recognizes  and  judges  both. 
We  set  up  his  statue  here  beneath  the  dome  of  the  Capitol 
in  memory  of  his  public  career.  There  is  110  need,  nor  is 
there  time  or  space,  to  follow  that  career  in  all  its  varied 
achievement,  in  its  successes  or  its  shortcomings.  It  is  the 
"Teat  central  fact  of  his  life  and  work  that  is  of  most  con- 

o 

cern  to  us  here.  For  what  did  this  man  so  marvelously 
gifted  stand  preeminent?  For  what  does  he  stand  preemi 
nent  to-day?  In  his  own  lifetime  he  was  called  "the 
expounder  of  the  Constitution."  The  title  is  too  dry  and 
too  narrow.  He  stood  then  and  now  stands  as  the  great 
defender  and  champion  of  Union  and  of  the  nation  in  the 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        213 

days   when    they  needed    defense.     Not   even    the    jth    of 
March  changed  him  in  that  respect. 

That  famous  speech  was  the  great  crisis  of  WEBSTER'S 
life.  He  then  turned  his  back  upon  his  past,  deserted  his 
lifelong  opposition  to  slavery,  and  sustained  the  compro 
mise  in  which  slavery  was  dominant.  In  so  doing  he 
defended  the  Union  with  all  the  fervor  of  his  earlier  days, 
but  of  the  vast  change  in  his  attitude  toward  slavery  there 
could  be  no  question.  The  North  fell  away  from  him  in 
grief  and  pain.  The  Northern  people  felt  that  he  had 
deserted  them  as  he  had  deserted  his  own  past.  In  the 
heat  of  that  bitter  time  it  was  said  that  he  had  sold  his 
birthright  for  a  mess  of  pottage,  that  he  had  abandoned  his 
principles  and  his  people,  and  bowed  his  knee  in  the  house 
of  Rimmon,  bribed  by  a  Southern  promise  of  the  Presi 
dency  which  would  never  be  fulfilled.  It  was  a  terrible 
explanation,  but  it  was  a  simple  one,  and  the  simplest 
explanation  is  usually  accepted  at  the  moment. 

History,  however,  can  not  be  content  with  what  is 
merely  obvious.  In  the  tangled  network  of  human  mo 
tives  only  omniscience  can  accurately  decide  which  one 
governs.  But  this  much  can  easily  be  seen,  that  human 
motives,  so  difficult  always  to  determine,  are  rarely  simple. 
Many  influences  may  work  to  the  same  end.  That  the 
passion  for  the  Presidency  and  the  longing  for  Southern 
support  played  an  important  part  in  WEBSTER'S  change  of 
attitude  can  not  be  doubted.  But  it  is  narrow  and  unjust 
to  think  that  this  meaner  influence  was  the  only  one. 
Then  as  always  the  dominant  motive  with  WEBSTER  was 
his  love  for  the  Union.  That  he  made  a  capital  mistake 
on  the  7th  of  March  is  clear  enough  to  all  who  look 


214  Address  of  Mr.  Lodge  on  the 

calmly  at  our  history  and  who,  in  the  words  of  Washing 
ton,  "think  continentally. "  That  he  of  all*men  should 
have  seen  that  the  Union  could  not  be  saved  by  compro 
mise  and  that  he  above  all  men  should  not  have  tried  to 
save  the  Union  by  compromise  are  equally  plain.  Yet, 
when  all  is  said  and  all  admitted,  the  fact  remains  that  on 
the  7th  of  March,  1850,  dread  of  secession  and  love  of 
Union  moved  him  to  action — however  mistaken  that 
action  may  have  been — as  they  had  always  moved  him 
before. 

As  in  his  earliest  so  in  his  latest  years,  that  love  of  Union 
was  the  passion  of  his  life.  When  the  excitement  of  the 
compromise  period  had  passed,  and  when  the  war  had 
been  fought  out,  this  became  more  and  more  apparent. 
Men  looked  back  behind  the  yth  of  March  speech,  forgot 
the  hour  of  weakness,  and  recalled  the  days  of  strength. 
There  we  can  see,  above  all,  in  the  mighty  speech  known 
as  the  reply  to  Hayne,  what  WEBSTER  really  did  for  us. 
He  depicted  the  Union  as  it  was.  He  showed  how  the  Con 
stitution  had  ceased  to  be  an  experiment  and  had  made  a 
nation  and  not  a  confederacy  or  a  league.  His  words  sank 
into  the  hearts  of  the  people,  and  not  only  offered  them 
arguments  but  gave  them  faith.  He  did  more  to  create 
the  national  sentiment  in  the  years  before  the  war  than 
any  other  man,  and  it  was  this  national  sentiment  that 
he  expressed  so  passionately  which  nerved  the  arms  and 
stirred  the  hearts  of  the  Northern  people  when  war  came, 
and  which  drove  forward  the  bayonets  of  the  national 
armies  on  many  a  stricken  field. 

WEBSTER'S  devotion  to  the  Union  was  as  heartfelt  as  it 
was   fervent.      He  not  only  believed  in  it  as  a  patriot, but  it 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        215 

was  a  part  of  his  very  nature.  He  had  "no  Alleghanies  in 
his  politics,"  and,  like  one  of  Lowell's  pioneers,  uhe  had 
empire  in  his  brain."  In  the  great  rush  of  the  closing 
passages  of  that  7th  of  March  speech  he  cried  ' 4  Peaceable 
secession!  peaceable  secession!  What  States  are  to  secede ? 
What  is  to  remain  American?  What  am  I  to  be?"  This 
was  not  the  utterance  of  a  colossal  vanity  or  an  overwhelm 
ing  egotism.  It  was  a  cry  of  the  heart.  The  thought  of 
a  broken  Union  filled  him  with  horror.  He  could  not  con 
ceive  himself  as  other  than  a  citizen  of  the  United  States. 
He  felt  that  he  should  stifle  and  die  if  he  were  forced  to  be 
a  dweller  in  one  of  half  a  dozen  little  republics  on  the 
South  American  model,  and  this  he  knew,  as  we  all  know 
now,  was  what  secession  carried  in  its  train.  It  was  this  "• 
conception  of  Union  and  nationality,  this  imperial  instinct, 
which  inspired  WEBSTER'S  noblest  words.  If  all  else  were 
forgotten,  the  memory  of  his  battle  for  the  Union  and  the 
nation  would  still  survive.  To  the  man  who  rendered  this 
great  service  and  who  brought  such  splendid  gifts  to  its 
performance  we  do  well  to  raise  a  monument,  and  no  place 
can  be  so  fit  for  it  -as  the  very  Capitol  itself  of  the  nation 
he  so  dearlv  loved. 


216  Address  of  Mr.  G  ailing  er  on  the 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  GALLINGER, 

Mr.  PRESIDENT:  The  career  of  DANIEL  WEBSTER  has 
been  so  ably  and  elaborately  set  forth  on  former  occasions 
and  to-day  that  nothing  remains  for  me  to  do  but  to  add  a 
single  word.  Spending  my  summer  vacations  in  the  town 
where  WEBSTER  was  born,  and  frequently  passing  the  spot 
on  which  the  farmhouse  stood  where  he  first  saw  the  light 
of  day,  it  would  be  a  labor  of  love  to  trace  his  steps  from 
the  obscure  surroundings  of  his  boyhood  days  to  the  time 
when  he  became  the  foremost  figure  in  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States  and  the  universally  recognized  leader  of  the 
political  party  to  which  he  belonged.  But  this  has  already 
been  done  by  others  better  than  it  could  be  done  by  me. 

The  word  I  will  say  is  simply  to  emphasize  WEBSTER'S 
devotion  to  the  Union  and  his  broad  and  all-pervading 
nationality.  He  loved  his  country  and  its  institutions. 
He  revered  the  Constitution,  which  he  defended  with  con 
summate  ability  in  the  National  Legislature.  He  deplored 
sectional  strife,  and  exerted  himself  always  to  strengthen 
the  bonds  of  good  feeling  between  the  States  and  the 
sections  of  our  common  country.  Nullification,  secession, 
disunion,  were  to  him  things  of  horrid  import,  and  his 
influence  and  words  were  always  in  behalf  of  an  insep 
arable  and  indissoluble  Union. 

Were  WEBSTER  alive  to-day,  no  fact  connected  with  the 
Republic  would  give  him  so  much  joy  as  that  the  contest 
for  a  separation  of  the  Union  had  been  fought  out  and 
settled,  and  that  the  great  principles  of  government  which 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  IVcbstcr.       217 

he  so  ably  advocated  are  forever  established  in  the  hearts 
and  consciences  of  the  American  people.  Here  to-day,  as 
a  statue  is  unveiled  in  the  nation's  Capitol  to  his  memory, 
and  his  virtues  and  achievements  are  recalled,  we  may 
well  adopt  his  words  as  our  own,  and,  renewing  our  vows 
to  the  cause  of  constitutional  government,  say  to  the  people 
of  all  parts  of  this  great  land: 

Let  our  object  be  our  country,  our  whole  country,  and  nothing 
but  our  country;  and  by  the  blessing  of  God  may  the  country  itself 
become  then  a  splendid  monument,  not  of  oppression  and  power, 
but  of  peace  and  prosperity,  at  which  the  whole  world  may  gaze  in 
admiration  forever. 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER.  The  question  is  on  agreeing 
to  the  concurrent  resolutions  submitted  by  the  Senator 
from  Massachusetts  [Mr.  Hoar]. 

The  concurrent  resolutions  were  unanimously  agreed  to. 


ACCEPTANCE  OF  THE  STATUE  OF  DANIEL  WEBSTER. 


PROCEEDINGS  IN  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES. 


DECEMBER  12,  1894. 

Mr.  BAKER,  of  New  Hampshire.  Mr.  Speaker,  I  ask 
unanimous  consent  for  the  present  consideration  of  the 
resolution  which  I  send  to  the  desk. 

The  resolution  was  read,  as  follows: 

Resolved,  That  the  exercises  appropriate  to  the  reception  and 
acceptance  from  the  State  of  New  Hampshire  of  the  statues  of 
JOHN  STARK  and  DANIEL  WEBSTER,  to  be  erected  in  the  old  Hall 
of  the  House  of  Representatives,  be  made  the  special  order  for 
Thursday,  the  20th  day  of  December,  at  two  o'clock  p.  m. 

The  resolution  was  agreed  to. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  BAKER,  of  New  Hampshire,  a  motion 
to  reconsider  the  vote  by  which  the  resolution  was  adopted 
was  laid  on  the  table. 

DECEMBER  17,  1894. 

The  SPEAKER  laid  before  the  House  the  following  letter: 

STATE  OF  NEW  HAMPSHIRE,  EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT, 

Concord,  December  5,  1894. 

DEAR  SIR:  In  accordance  with  an  act  passed  at  the  biennial 
session  of  1893,  and  in  acceptance  of  an  invitation  contained  in 
section  eighteen  hundred  and  fourteen  of  the  Revised  Statutes  of  the 

219 


220          Proceedings  in  House  of  Representatives. 

United  States,  the  State  of  New  Hampshire  has  placed  in  the 
National  Statuary  Hall  in  the  Capitol  at  Washington«two  statues  in 
marble — the  one  of  JOHN  STARK,  the  other  of  DANIEL  WEBSTER. 
These  statues  were  modeled  by  Carl  Conrads  after  statues  in  bronze 
now  in  the  State  House  Park  at  Concord.  The  original  of  the 
WEBSTER  statue  is  by  Ball,  and  was  presented  to  the  State  by 
Benjamin  Pierce  Cheney.  The  original  statue  of  STARK  is  by 
Conrads,  and  was  erected  by  the  State. 

In  behalf  of  the  State  of  New  Hampshire,  I  have  the  honor  of 
presenting  these  statues  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States. 
Very  respectfully, 

JOHN  B.  SMITH,  Governor. 
Hon.  CHARLES  F.  CRISP, 

Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

The  SPEAKER.  This  communication  will  lie  upon  the 
table  until  the  House  determines  to  act  upon  it. 

DECEMBER  20,  1894. 

The  SPEAKER.   The  Clerk  will  report  the  special  order. 
The  Clerk  read  as  follows: 

Resolved,  That  the  exercises  appropriate  to  the  reception  and 
acceptance  from  the  State  of  New  Hampshire  of  the  statues  of 
JOHN  STARK  and  DANIEL  WEBSTER,  to  be  erected  in  the  old  Hall 
of  the  House  of  Representatives,  be  made  the  special  order  for 
Thursday,  the  20th  day  of  December,  at  two  o'clock  p.  m. 

Mr.  BAKER,  of  New  Hampshire.  Mr.  Speaker,  I  ask  that 
the  letter  of  his  excellency  the  governor  of  New  Hampshire, 
addressed  to  the  honorable  Speaker  of  this  House,  which 
has  been  read  and  laid  upon  the  table,  be  taken  from  the 
table  and  again  reported. 

The  letter  was  read,  as  follows: 

STATE  OF  NEW  HAMPSHIRE,  EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT, 

Concord,  December  5,  1894. 

DEAR  SIR:  In  accordance  with  an  act  passed  at  the  biennial 
session  of  1893,  and  in  acceptance  of  an  invitation  contained  in 
section  eighteen  hundred  and  fourteen  of  the  Revised  Statutes  of  the 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        221 

United  States,  the  State  of  New  Hampshire  has  placed  in  the 
National  Statuary  Hall  in  the  Capitol  at  Washington  two  statues  in 
marble — the  one  of  JOHN  STARK,  the  other  of  DANIEL  WEBSTER. 
These  statues  were  modeled  by  Carl  Conrads  after  statues  in  bronze 
now  in  the  State  House  Park  at  Concord.  The  original  of  the 
WEBSTER  statue  is  by  Ball,  and  was  presented  to  the  State  by 
Benjamin  Pierce  Cheney.  The  original  statue  of  STARK  is  by 
Conrads,  and  was  erected  by  the  State. 

In  behalf  of  the   State  of  New  Hampshire,  I   have  the  honor  of 
presenting  these  statues  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States. 
Very  respectfully, 

JOHN  B.  SMITH,  Governor. 
Hon.  CHARLES  F.  CRISP, 

Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

Mr.  BLAIR.   Mr.  Speaker,  I  have  the  honor  to  submit  a 
resolution,  for  which  I  ask  immediate  consideration. 
The  resolution  was  read,  as  follows  : 

Re  solved  by  the  House  of  Representatives  (the  Senate  concurring], 
That  the  thanks  of  Congress  are  presented  to  the  State  of  New 
Hampshire  for  the  statue  of  DANIEL  WEBSTER,  a  citizen  of  that 
State,  illustrious  for  distinguished  civic  services  rendered  to  his  State, 
his  country,  and  mankind 

Resolved,  That  the  statue  be  accepted  and  assigned  to  a  place  in 
the  National  Statuary  Hall,  and  that  a  copy  of  these  resolutions, 
duly  authenticated,  be  presented  to  his  excellency  the  governor  of 
the  State  of  New  Hampshire. 


222  Address  of  Mr.  Blair  on  the 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  BLAIR. 

Mr,  SPEAKER:  In  recognition  of  the  inseparable  blend 
ing  of  our  National  and  State  Governments,  each  necessary 
to  the^  other  and  together  forming  one  complete  organic 
whale,  Congress  has  set  apart  the  old  Hall  of  the  House 
of  Representatives  for  assembling  in  everlasting  compan 
ionship  the  statues  of  such  of  the  superior  men  of  the 
States,  not  exceeding  two  in  number  from  each,  as  they 
respectively  may  select. 

No  great  American  belongs  wholly  to  his  State,  nor  yet 
to  the  nation  at  large,  but  equally  to  both,  and  the  presence 
of  these  silent  but  perpetual  reminders  of  the  high  exam 
ples  and  illustrious  lives  of  those  who  have  been  most  con 
spicuously  identified  with  the  creation  and  growth  of  our 
institutions,  States,  and  nationality  can  not  fail  to  produce 
an  ennobling  and  far-reaching  effect  upon  our  people. 

The  presence  of  these  monuments  will  forever  educate 
and  instruct  their  beholders  to  emulate  those  actions  which 
constitute  the  high  careers  of  the  great  men  whom  they 
represent. 

In  times  of  peace  they  will  increase  our  peace;  they  may 
help  to  save  us  many  wars,  and  to  make  those  successful 
in  which  we  are  compelled  to  engage.  By  the  influence  of 
these  august  forms  their  great  originals  will  hold  perpetual 
session  and  legislate  for  the  good  of  their  country  until  the 
foundations  of  the  Capitol  are  subverted  and  the  city  of 
Washington  is  no  more. 

New  Hampshire  is  one  of  the  old  thirteen.  Founded  in 
1623,  three  years  after  the  Pilgrims  landed  on  Plymouth 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        223 

Rock,  she  was  for  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  a  frontier 
State,  and  the  Revolution  found  her  with  a  population  of 
about  eighty  thousand,  when  Massachusetts  had  five  times 
that  number  of  people.  But  the  two  colonies  always  had 
much  in  common,  far  more  than  either  had  with  any  other 
colony,  and  in  a  certain  way  there  was  between  them  a  true 
sisterly  affection. 

Massachusetts  has  done  many  a  kindly  deed  for  New 
Hampshire,  and  in  turn,  for  the  century  during  which  our 
little  State  fought  the  savages  and  the  Frenchmen  for  the 
protection  of  her  more  flourishing,  populous,  and  wealthy 
neighbor,  as  well  as  for  her  own  existence,  Massachusetts, 
by  her  enlarged  opportunities,  has  often  furnished,  as  she 
is  still  doing,  the  arena  on  which  the  sons  of  New  Hamp 
shire  have  found  a  more  ample  scope  for  their  abilities 
and  replenished  the  already  well-filled  records  of  the  old 
Bay  State  with  achievements  of  the  highest  order  of 
ability. 

One  notable,  and  the  greatest  man  ever  given  by  one 
American  State  to  another,  is  the  subject  of  the  present 
exercises,  and  if  it  be  suggested,  as  it  has  been  suggested, 
that  it  might  have  been  better  if  Massachusetts  had  been 
left  herself  to  fitly  honor  the  immortal  orator,  lawyer,  and 
statesman  by  placing  his  counterfeit  presentment  in 
Statuary  Hall,  it  should  be  remembered  that,  besides  the 
facts  of  birth,  education,  and  of  a  distinguished  career 
already  accomplished  when  Mr.  WEBSTER  removed  to 
Massachusetts,  she  has  precluded  such  action  on  her  part 
by  having  already  presented  statues  of  two  of  her  own  most 
distinguished  sons,  whose  illustrious  lives  fully  entitle 
them  to  that  high  distinction.  The  quota  of  Massachusetts 


224  Address  of  Mr.  Blair  on  the 

among  these  immortals  is  already  full,  but  the  complete 
galaxy  of  her  sons  who  will  never  die  would  fill'the  heavens. 

Nor  is  even  the  great  WEBSTER  necessary  to  the  fame  of 
New  Hampshire,  for  she  has  innumerable  soldiers,  orators, 
statesmen,  and  patriots,  with  their  records  of  eternal  honor. 
But  Mr.  WEBSTER  was  essentially  a  product  of  New 
Hampshire,  born  in  the  fullness  of  time,  out  of  her  stern 
conditions,  there  bred  and  educated,  planted,  exercised, 
and  developed  in  professional  life  and  in  national  public 
life,  and  so  prepared  for  the  more  fortunate  arena  which  he 
afterwards  found  in  his  adopted  State.  Therefore  it  is 
most  appropriate  that  New  Hampshire  claim  here  and  now 
and  always  that  she  produced  the  great  North  Star,  whose 
steady  light  shall  bid  the  ship  of  our  liberties,  as  it  navi 
gates  the  ocean  of  our  national  destiny,  l '  forever  know  its 
place." 

The  family  of  DANIEL  WEBSTER  is  said  to  be  of  Scotch 
origin,  although  its  first  American  settler  came  from  Eng 
land  and  established  himself  at  Hampton,  N.  H.,  in  the 
year  1636.  The  descent  is  traced  through  Kingston  and 
Salisbury,  where  DANIEL  was  born  on  the  i8th  day  of 
January,  1782.  His  father  was  born  at  Kingston  in  1739. 
He  fought  in  the  French  and  Indian  war,  rising  to  the  rank 
of  captain  in  the  famous  regiment  of  Rodgers's  rangers, 
the  most  remarkable  body  of  fighting  men  ever  produced 
by  the  combination  of  civilized  and  savage  warfare. 

When  Canada  became  an  English  province  by  the 
cession  in  1763,  Ebenezer  Webster  removed  to  Salisbury 
and  settled  on  the  farm  said  to  have  then  been  the  nearest 
the  savages  and  Canada  of  any  resided  upon  by  civilized 
man  in  New  England.  He  was  a  man  of  great  natural 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.       225 

abilities,  but  without  any  of  the  advantages  of  education 
in  early  life.  In  spite  of  it  all,  however,  he  became  a 
judge  and  one  of  the  most  influential  men  in  that  part  of 
the  State. 

He  determined  to  educate  DANIEL,  and  in  due  time  sent 
him  to  Phillips  Academy,  Exeter,  and  to  Dartmouth  Col 
lege.  The  tale  of  the  struggles  of  the  family  to  accom 
plish  this,  and  also  the  education  of  DANIEL'S  remarkable 
older  brother  Ezekiel,  which  was  not  thought  of  until 
the  opening  genius  of  DANIEL  aroused  him  to  the  im- 
<  portance  of  giving  to  Ezekiel  the  same  advantages  he 
was  receiving  himself,  is  pathetic  to  the  last  degree,  and 
no  man  can  read  it  without  tears. 

In  1805  DANIEL  commenced  the  practice  of  law  at 
Salisbury,  where  his  father  still  lived,  and  where  he  sur 
vived  for  a  short  time,  and  until  he  listened  to  the  first 
plea  of  his  son  and  foresaw  the  inevitable  celebrity  which 
was  in  store  for  him. 

In  the  town  of  Plymouth,  where  I  formerly  lived,  the 
old  court-house  in  which  he  made  his  first  plea  in  an  im 
portant  case  is  still  preserved  in  its  ancient  form,  being 
used  for  the  purpose  of  a  public  library.  On  his  last  visit 
to  Plymouth,  Mr.  WEBSTER,  with  a  party  of  friends,  vis 
ited  this  ancient  building,  then  being  used  for  the  humble 
purposes  of  a  wheelwright's  repair  shop,  and  pointed  out 
the  location  of  the  judges,  lawyers,  and  jury,  and  described 
the  scenes  of  the  trial  which  was  the  real  commencement 
of  his  professional  career.  After  completing  this  intensely 
interesting  account,  he  carelessly  took  a  piece  of  chalk 
from  the  bench  before  him  and  wrote  his  name — DANIEL 
WEBSTER — on  the  wooden  wall  of  the  room,  where  it  was 
15  s — \v 


226  Address  of  Mr.  Blair  on  the 

for  years  afterwards  pointed  out  to  visitors  as  DANIEL 
WEBSTER'S  autograph  written  in  chalk,  until  one  cold 
morning  an  uncouth  apprentice  boy  daubed  it  out  of  sight 
in  softening  his  brush,  which  had  stiffened  with  paint  the 
previous  night. 

Knowing  of  these  things  and  of  the  historic  interest 
which  would  always  attach  to  this  old  court-house,  I  res 
cued  it  from  destruction,  and  it  is  one  of  the  pleasant  mem 
ories  of  my  life  that  I  saw  it  dedicated  to  a  purpose  not 
ignoble  in  comparison  with  that  for  which  it  was  origi 
nally  erected.  Traditions  still  survive  in  that  community 
of  the  tremendous  effect  produced  by  this  first  plea  of  a 
then  unknown  young  lawyer,  but  who  has  been  famous  ever 
since.  When  I  was  a  boy,  an  old  man  with  an  extraordi 
nary  memory  was  still  surviving,  who  would  repeat  page 
after  page  of  it  by  heart  with  great  verbal  accuracy.  I 
may  further  add  that  on  the  occasion  of  his  last  visit  to 
Plymouth,  which  was  in  1851,  Mr.  WEBSTER  alluded  to 
his  old  friend,  Dr.  Thomas  J.  Whipple,  who  was  once  a 
member  of  Congress  from  that  vicinity,  as  "the  greatest 
reasoner  he  had  ever  known."  Dr.  Thomas  J.  Whipple 
was  the  father  of  the  famous  Col.  Thomas  J.  Whipple, 
who  lately  died  in  the  city  of  Laconia. 

In  the  year  1807  Mr.  WEBSTER  removed  to  the  wealthy 
and  patrician  city  of  Portsmouth,  when  he  at  once  took  his 
place  in  the  front  rank  along  with  Jeremiah  Mason,  prob 
ably  the  greatest  master  of  the  common  law  that  ever  lived 
in  this  country,  and  who  was,  in  the  deliberately  expressed 
opinion  of  Mr.  WEBSTER,  in  no  wise  the  inferior  of  Chief 
Justice  Marshall  himself.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the 
masterly  professional  struggles  between  these  two  giants 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.       227 

did  more  to  make  DANIEL  WEBSTER  the  greatest  all- 
around  lawyer  of  his  time  than  anything  else.  He  first 
took  his  seat  in  Congress  on  the  24th  day  of  May,  1813, 
serving  four  years,  and  achieving  national  fame  during  the 
Thirteenth  and  Fourteenth  Congresses  as  a  member  of  the 
House  from  New  Hampshire. 

In  1816  he  removed  to  Boston,  and  resided  in  the  State 
of  Massachusetts  until  his  death,  which  took  place  at 
Marshfield  on  the  24th  day  of  October,  1852. 

Before  Mr.  WEBSTER  left  New  Hampshire  he  had  done 
some  of  the  best  work  of  his  life  in  the  three  great  depart 
ments  of  culture  and  intellectual  service  wherein  he  after 
wards  surpassed  all  contemporaries,  as  an  orator,  a  lawyer, 
and  a  statesman. 

New  Hampshire  gave  to  Massachusetts  and  to  the  world 
a  full-grown  giant,  with  powers  drawn  from  her  inexhaust 
ible  resources  for  the  production  of  men  preeminent  and 
sufficient  for  the  demands  of  any  arena. 

It  is  not  the  least  of  the  abounding  glories  of  the  first  of 
American  States,  save  only  the  peerless  mother  of  WEB 
STER  herself,  that  Massachusetts  took  him  to  her  bosom 
with  the  pride  and  affection  of  a  natural  mother,  and  that 
from  her  then  unapproachable  vantage  ground  of  oppor 
tunity  she  enabled  the  savior  of  the  Constitution  and  of  the 
Union  to  perform  the  tremendous  work  of  the  next  thirty- 
six  years.  But,  sir,  it  was  no  sapling,  but  a  full-grown 
oak,  which  from  the  mountains  of  New  Hampshire  was 
transplanted  to  the  shores  of  Massachusetts,  there  to  flour 
ish  with  increased  vigor  in  the  commingling  breezes  of  the 
land  and  of  the  sea. 

Mr.    WEBSTER   once  said  that  New  Hampshire    was  a 


228  Address  of  Mr.  Blair  on  the 

good  State  to  emigrate  from;  and  whatever  may  have  been 
his  meaning  at  the  time,  not  only  he  but  thousands  of  her 
sons,  who  have  gone  forth  to  found  and  fashion  the  desti 
nies  of  other  States  and  of  the  whole  Union  of  all  the 
States,  have  found  out  too  that  New  Hampshire  is  a  good 
State  to  emigrate  from;  for  to  the  qualities  and  powers  and 
-training  with  which  she  endowed  arid  equipped  them  the 
obstacles  of  nature  and  of  society  have  helplessly  yielded 
and  their  home-given  superiority  has  been  acknowledged 
by  grateful  Commonwealths  which  trace  their  own  eleva 
tion  to  the  influence  of  our  granite  hills. 

No  emigrant  from  New  Hampshire  ever  yet  found  it  for 
his  interest  to  conceal  the  State  he  came  from,  and  it  is 
her  own  greatest  pride  to  feel  that  her  sons  need  no  written 
certificate  of  excellence  as  they  turn  their  faces  worldward 
to  mingle  in  the  great  struggle  of  the  generations  of  men, 
for  they  carry  with  them  in  their  own  sinewy  and  well- 
knit  and  self-reliant  natures  an  endowment  which  no  Spar 
tan  or  Athenian  mother  ever  gave  to  her  boy,  and  which, 
coupled  with  the  resources  and  opportunities  of  other 
States,  have  placed  them  in  the  front  rank  of  every  pro 
cession  wherever  they  are  found,  and  demonstrated  that 
New  Hampshire  is  indeed  a  good  State  to  emigrate  from. 
And  of  us  who  have  remained  on  our  native  soil  and  who 
know  her  best,  who  does  not  thank  God  that  he  is  per 
mitted  there  to  live?  Who  is  not  ready  anywhere  at  any 
time  to  maintain  her  honor  and  for  her  to  die? 

We  are  now,  sir,  approaching  the  great  service  of 
DANIEL  WEBSTER  to  mankind.  Upon  it  depends  his 
fame,  because  it  was  as  the  expounder  of  the  Constitution 
and  the  demonstrator  of  the  nature  of  the  government 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        229 

formed  by  the  union  of  these  States  that  he  placed  himself 
above  all  the  benefactors  which  his  generation  gave  to  his 
country,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  that  intelligent  con 
viction  and  profound  sentiment  for  patriotic  nationality 
which  permeated  the  heads  and  hearts  of  the  people,  and 
which,  when  in  after  years  the  grand  trial  of  battle  came, 
preserved  the  Union  and  the  supremacy  of  its  laws. 

The  necessary  brevity  of  these  remarks  will  not  permit 
the  general  discussion  of  his  life  and  character.  I  shall, 
therefore,  confine  myself  mainly  to  this  part  of  the  work 
of  Mr.  WEBSTER,  trusting,  perhaps,  to  the  courtesy  of  the 
House,  on  some  future  occasion,  to  place  a  more  adequate 
estimate  of  his  public  services  upon  the  records  of  the  •. 
country,  when  I  shall  have  had  the  opportunity  for  proper 
preparation,  which  circumstances  have  now  denied.  I  do 
this  the  more  willingly  because  I  know  that,  besides  my 
colleague  and  other  eminent  gentlemen  who  will  honor  the 
occasion  in  what  they  may  have  to  say,  the  distinguished 
member  from  Massachusetts,  himself  the  worthy  son  of 
one  of  the  superior  men  whose  frequent  association  with 
Mr.  WEBSTER  was  to  the  increased  honor  and  benefit  of 
the  whole  country,  and  which  association  in  youth  he 
witnessed,  will  do  ampler  justice  than  I  possibly  can  to 
the  subject  before  us  and  to  his  own  great  CommonwTealth. 

A  real  nation  is  a  growth  of  many  people  into  one  sensi 
tive  and  compact  society,  capable  of  united  action,  both 
for  offense  and  defense,  and  in  which  all  individuals  and 
parts  composing  it,  harmoniously  blended,  are  important 
for  its  happy  and  powerful  existence.  It  is  not  a  mere  herd 
or  agglomeration  of  individual  men,  however  numerous  or 
even  intelligent  they  may  be. 


230  Address  of  Mr.  Blair  on  the 

Nationality  is  essentially  a  thing  of  the  mind.  It  can  be 
produced  only  by  processes  which  are  chiefly  mental,  and 
by  experiences  which,  although  they  may  appertain  much 
to  the  body,  are  yet  incapable  of  creating  a  nation  except 
as  they  produce  a  mental  and  moral  unity,  upon  the 
strength  of  which,  as  a  force  directing  and  controlling 
animal  existence  and  material  things,  the  power  and  hap 
piness  and  existence  of  the  nation  depend. 

In  most  of  the  great  examples  of  history,  states  and  em 
pires  have  been  the  result  of  ages  of  slow  evolution  from 
families  and  tribes,  gradually  increasing,  improving,  and 
surpassing  and  absorbing  or  destroying  their  neighbors, 
hardening  and  compacting  and  yet  ever  enlarging  and  as 
cending  with  the  vicissitudes  of  time,  until  at  last  they  have 
become  mighty  social  units,  which  have  already  played 
their  parts  in  or  are  still  in  action  upon  the  great  drama  of 
human  affairs.  The  progress  has  always  been  not  only 
from  a  given  point  forward  and  outward,  but  upward  also. 
There  has  been  increase  not  only  in  numbers,  but  intel 
lectually  and  morally,  and  those  only  are  in  the  highest 
and  truest  sense  great  nations  in  which  the  individual  man 
is  most  intelligently  patriotic. 

True  it  is  that  the  influence  of  association  upon  the  same 
soil  or  the  same  climate,  and  the  existence  of  those  rela 
tions  essential  to  the  perpetuation,  the  support,  and  the 
defense  of  the  community,  will  create  a  patriotic  devotion 
formidable  to  those  who  assail  it.  But  the  existence  of 
this  tie — the  tie  of  patriotism — which  is  of  the  essence  of 
nationality,  can  only  result  from  a  feeling  so  strong  that  it 
has  become  such  an  essential  part  of  the  affections  and  of 
the  intellectual  structure  of  the  people  that  their  existence 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.       231 

together  as  a  whole,  as  many  in  one,  is  absolutely  indis 
pensable  to  their  happiness  and  that  of  their  children. 
And  this  sentiment  of  patriotic  devotion  founded  upon 
conviction  of  the  mind  must  have  become  so  strong  and 
universal  and  unquestioned  and  unquestionable  that  it 
bursts  forth  spontaneously  whenever  the  national  autonomy 
is  assailed.  Thus  at  last  men  are  for  their  country  because 
it  is  their  country.  Whatever  its  cause  may  be,  the  coun 
try  must  be  right.  Our  country,  right  or  wrong!  Then 
men  die  for  the  flag  without  a  question.  Individuals  are 
like  atoms  of  the  body,  and  partake  of  life  and  motion 
only  as  collectively  they  are  the  great  body  politic,  living 
and  dying  in  it  and  of  it  and  with  it.  The  Frenchman 
lives  and  dies  for  France,  the  German  for  Fatherland,  the  " 
Englishman  for  Old  England  and  for  the  Empire  of  the 
Seas,  and  the  American  for  the  Union  of  these  States. 

Generally,  in  the  history  of  the  world,  the  evolution  of 
this  idea  of  nationality  has  been  the  work  of  ages.  Not  so 
in  America.  The  circumstances  of  the  origin  of  the  States 
made  it  impossible.  Yet  an  intense  sentiment  of  national 
ity  was  as  necessary  here  as  elsewhere  for  the  existence  of 
the  nation  and  the  preservation  of  the  Union  upon  which 
it  depends,  because  the  laws  of  human  nature  are  univer 
sal.  Our  continent  was  unknown  to  the  modern  world 
and  to  the  ancestors  of  those  who  now  live  in  it  until 
within  the  last  four  hundred  years.  The  United  States 
has  been  practically  settled  and  developed  within  the  last 
two  hundred  and  fifty  years. 

Three  warring  nations — England,  France,  and  Spain — 
struggled  together  in  our  foundation,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
German,  the  Dutch,  the  Dane,  the  Swede  and  Norwegian, 


232  Address  of  Mr.  Blair  on  the 

and  many  other  European  elements,  the  savages,  the 
negro,  and  all  the  conflicting  forms  of  creed  aftid  rank  and 
of  prejudice,  and  of  other  distracting  and  inharmonious 
conditions  which  obtained  in  our  early  history  and  during 
the  brief  period  of  settlement  and  growth  in  thirteen 
primal  colonies  which  preceded  the  organization  of  the 
Government  in  1789,  at  which  time  the  whole  were  actu 
ally  dissolving  in  ruin,  notwithstanding  the  great  but 
terrible  pressure  of  the  then  recent  war  for  independence. 

There  was  then  no  nation.  Notwithstanding  the  strong 
reasons,  based  upon  common  interest  and  ties,  which  re 
sulted  from  participation  in  common  dangers,  and  to  some 
extent  of  kindred  blood,  there  was  no  general,  all-per 
vading  sentiment  of  patriotism  and  of  nationality  when  the 
Government  was  founded.  The  best  that  could  be  done, 
the  best  that  even  the  wisest  and  greatest  attempted  to  do, 
was  to  organize  a  union  which  should  leave  the  control  of 
local  and  domestic  conditions  to  the  sovereignty  of  the 
States,  parting  with  and  conferring  upon  the  General 
Government  nothing  except  because  of  absolute  necessity, 
and  not  from  a  general  and  spontaneous  love  of  the  whole 
mass  of  the  people  for  each  other,  based  upon  long  and 
tried  association  or  upon  intelligent  conviction  of  what 
was  best  for  them  and  their  posterity. 

It  was  necessity  and  not  love  which  led  to  the  Union  of 
these  States.  The  original  confederation  was  but  a  union 
of  corporations,  and  there  is  little  evidence  that  those  cor 
porations  had  souls  which  were  inclined  to  cement  them 
selves  into  one  grand  nationality  any  further  or  faster  than 
stern  necessity  compelled  them  to  unite  or  die.  When  the 
pressure  of  imminent  destruction  was  relaxed  by  the  peace 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        233 

of  independence  in  1783,  the  true  nature  of  the  confeder 
acy  was  revealed.  Kach  State  and  section  was  in  it  for 
what  could  be  made  out  of  it,  and  for  no  more. 

And  then  ensued,  without  actual  violence,  all  the  essential 
conditions  of  absolute  separate  State  sovereignty,  but  for 
which  there  would  have  been  outright  civil  war.  In  their 
legal  relations  they  were  thirteen  nations  inclined  to  hos 
tilities  among  themselves,  and  the  interior  condition  of 
many  of  the  individual  States  was  hardly  better  than  that 
which  prevailed  in  the  alleged  confederacy  at  large.  It  is 
not  too  much  to  say  that  if,  when  it  was  adopted,  the  terms 
of  the  Constitution  under  which  we  now  live  had  been 
universally  and  clearly  understood  by  all  the  people  in  all 
the  States  precisely  as  they  have  turned  out  to  be  in  the 
light  of  the  construction  given  them  since  that  time,  this 
Union  would  not  then  have  been  formed.  America  would 
not  then  have  become  a  nation. 

Time  had  not  then  welded  us  together.  Intelligent  con 
viction  had  not  done  its  work.  There  was  no  union  of  the 
minds  and  hearts  of  the  people  of  the  several  States  such 
as  is  indispensable  to  the  existence  of  a  nation — a  great 
society  which  will  die  to  preserve  its  internal  as  well  as 
external  autonomy.  At  once  the  warfare  over  the  contra 
dictory  constructions  of  the  Constitution  began.  The  Vir 
ginia  and  Kentucky  resolutions  recorded  the  anti-national 
views  as  early  as  1798.  A  great  party,  strong  in  the  whole 
country  and  soon  in  control  of  the  Government,  and  retain 
ing  it  most  of  the  time  until  1840,  generally  upheld  this 
construction  of  the  Constitution. 

Meanwhile  domestic  slavery  became  a  most  powerful  in 
stitution  in  one-half  of  the  country,  and  the  development 


234  Address  of  Mr.  Blair  on  the 

of  the  cotton -raising  industry  identified  the  existing 
prosperity  as  well  as  the  social  condition  ef  the  great 
South  with  the  anti-national  doctrines  ;  and  during  all 
those  forty  years,  from  the  foundation  of  the  Government 
until  the  debate  between  Mr.  WEBSTER  and  Mr.  Hayne 
in  1830,  the  masses  of  the  American  people  had  been 
taught  (so  far  as  they  had  been  taught  at  all)  to  believe 
that  our  Government  was  a  confederacy  of  States  which 
might  peaceably  dissolve  at  will,  and  not  a  nation  which 
had  the  rightful  power  to  coerce  a  State  and  reduce  a 
rebellion  within  a  State  by  war  against  the  will  of  the 
State. 

A  free  people  will  not  fight  for  that  in  which  they  do 
not  believe. 

Notwithstanding  the  decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court 
and  the  luminous  opinions  of  Marshall  and  of  other  great 
jurists  and  statesmen,  it  is  probable  that  when  Mr. 
WEBSTER  stood  up  in  the  American  Senate  to  reply  to 
the  masterly  speech  of  Mr.  Hayne  upholding  the  doctrine 
of  nullification  and  the  right  of  secession,  two-thirds  of 
the  American  people  believed  with  Mr.  Hayne  and  not 
with  Mr.  WEBSTER,  and  nearly,  perhaps  quite,  one-half 
of  the  Northern  people  were  of  the  same  belief.  The 
jury  was  with  Mr.  Hayne. 

Before  the  sentiment  of  nationality  could  become  the 
controlling  one  in  this  country,  before  there  could  be 
created  a  devotion  to  the  Union  of  the  States  and  to  the 
sovereignty  of  that  Union  in  all  that  had  been  granted  to 
it  by  the  Constitution,  even  if  need  be  to  the  shedding  of 
blood,  it  was  necessary  that  some  great  spirit  should 
explore  the  whole  ground  of  the  relations  between  the 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        235 

States  and  the  Union,  should  examine  every  proposition 
advanced  on  either  side,  meet  every  sophistry,  and  resolve 
every  doubt  that  could  be  raised;  weigh  all  conflicting 
interests  and  duly  balance  them  with  each  other;  enlighten 
all  men  and  all  sections  with  the  torch  of  reason,  and 
enforce  the  truth  by  the  most  formidable  powers  of 
eloquence  upon  the  minds  and  hearts  of  the  whole  people. 

It  was  necessary  that  the  people  should  be  aroused  to 
study  the  nature  of  their  situation  as  a  part  of  the  great 
system  of  human  affairs,  and  that  they  be  led  profoundly 
and  anxiously  to  study  the  great  problem  of  their  relations 
to  each  other  and  to  mankind  then  and  for  all  coming 
time,  that  whenever  in  the  future  the  test  should  come,  as 
come  it  did,  they  should  give  that  construction  to  the  Con-' 
stitution  by  which  a  generation  afterwards  welded  the 
Union  of  these  States  into  one  glorious  sovereign  whole, 
a  Union  national  and  inseparable  and  indestructible  in  its 
character,  consecrated  in  the  holiest  blood  of  a  million  of 
her  sons,  and  ordained  to  last  forever. 

This  was  the  great  task  that  the  God  of  nations  set 
before  DANIEL  WEBSTER  when  he  replied  to  Robert  Young 
Hayne  on  the  26th  day  of  January,  A.  D.  1830.  Mr. 
WEBSTER  said: 

Sir,  I  understand  the  honorable  gentleman  from  South  Carolina 
to  maintain  that  it  is  a  right  of  the  State  legislatures  to  interfere 
whenever  in  their  judgment  this  Government  transcends  its  consti 
tutional  limits,  and  to  arrest  the  operation  of  its  laws.  *  *  * 
And  that  if  the  exigency  of  the  case,  in  the  opinion  of  any  State  gov 
ernment,  require  it,  such  State  government  may  by  its  own  sover 
eign  authority  annul  an  act  of  the  General  Government  which  it 
deems  plainly  and  palpably  unconstitutional. 

Would  anything  with  such  a  principle  in  it,  or  rather  with  such  a 
destitution  of  all  principle,  be  fit  to  be  called  a  government  ?  No, 


230  Address  of  Mr.  Blair  on  the 

sir.  It  should  not  be  denominated  a  constitution.  It  should  be 
called  rather  a  collection  of  topics  for  everlasting  controversy;  heads 
of  debate  for  a  disputatious  people.  It  would  not  be  a  government. 

This  Government,  sir,  is  the  independent  offspring  of  the  popular 
will.  It  is  not  the  creature  of  State  legislatures;  nay,  more,  if  the 
whole  truth  must  be  told,  the  people  brought  it  into  existence,  estab 
lished  and  have  hitherto  supported  it-  for  the  very  purpose,  among 
others,  of  imposing  certain  salutary  restraints  on  State  sovereignties. 

The  people,  then,  sir,  erected  this  Government,  and  have  wisely 
provided  in  the  Constitution  itself  a  proper  and  suitable  mode  and 
tribunal  for  settling  questions  of  constitutional  law.  The  Constitu 
tion  has  itself  pointed  out,  ordained,  and  established  that  authority 
by  declaring,  sir,  that  the  Constitution  and  the  laws  of  the  United 
States  made  in  pursuance  thereof  shall  be  the  supreme  law  of  the 
land,  anything  in  the  constitution  or  laws  of  any  State  to  the  con 
trary  notwithstanding,  and  that  the  judicial  power  shall  extend  to  all 
cases  arising  under  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the  United  States. 

These  two  provisions,  sir,  cover  the  whole  ground.  They  are  in 
truth  the  keystone  of  the  arch.  With  these  it  is  a  government; 
without  them  it  is  a  confederacy. 

While  the  Union  lasts  we  have  high,  exciting,  gratifying  prospects 
spread  out  before  us  for  us  and  our  children.  Beyond  that  I  seek 
not  to  penetrate  the  veil.  God  grant  that  in  my  day  at  least  that 
curtain  may  not  rise !  God  grant  that  on  my  vision  never  may  be 
opened  what  lies  behind!  When  my  eyes  shall  be  turned  for  the 
last  time  to  behold  the  sun  in  heaven,  may  I  not  see  him  shining  on 
the  broken  and  dishonored  fragments  of  a  once  glorious  Union  ;  on 
States  dissevered,  discordant,  belligerent ;  on  a  land  rent  with  civil 
feuds,  or  drenched,  it  may  be,  with  fraternal  blood ! 

Let  my  last  feeble  and  lingering  glance  rather  behold  the  gor 
geous  ensign  of  the  Republic,  now  known  and  honored  throughout 
the  earth,  still  full  high  advanced,  its  arms  and  trophies  streaming 
in  their  original  luster,  not  a  stripe  erased  or  polluted,  nor  a  single 
star  obscured,  bearing  for  its  motto  no  such  miserable  interrogatory 
as  "What  is  all  this  worth?"  nor  those  other  words  of  delusion  and 
folly,  "Liberty  first  and  Union  afterwards;"  but  everywhere,  spread 
all  over  in  characters  of  living  light,  blazing  on  all  its  ample  folds, 
as  they  float  over  the  sea  and  over  the  land  and  in  every  wind 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster        237 

under  the  whole  heavens,  that  other  sentiment,  dear  to  every  true 
American  heart,  Liberty  and  Union,  now  and  forever,  one  and 
inseparable. 

Sir,  to  us  upon  whose  vision  that  curtain  did  rise,  and 
who  saw  and  suffered  what  lay  behind,  these  words  seem 
like  the  utterances  of  inspiration  ;  and  with  the  added 
emphasis  of  four  years  of  bloody  debate  on  a  thousand 
battlefields,  and  with  the  shrieks  and  prayers  of  a  million 
of  our  countrymen  still  ringing  in  our  ears,  let  us  of  the 
North,  and  us  of  the  South,  and  all  of  us  from  every  part 
of  our  chastened,  reunited,  and  glorified  country,  com 
mend  them  to  ourselves  and  to  our  posterity  generation 
after  generation,  until  the  Union  shall  dissolve  and  blend 
in  millennial  peace  and  governments  among  men  shall- 
be  no  more- 

When  Mr.  WEBSTER  sat  down  at  the  close  of  that  tre 
mendous  oration  the  work  was  done. 

A  nation  had  been  born  in  a  day.  That  day  was  the  real 
turning  point  in  American  history  since  the  Declaration  of 
Independence.  It,  too,  should  be  celebrated  with  bonfires 
and  illuminations,  the  ringing  of  bells,  and  the  acclaim  of 
rescued  and  happy  millions  forever.  It  insured  the  exist 
ence  of  the  nation,  because  it  furnished  the  argument 
which  convinced  the  reason  and  stormed  and  overwhelmed 
the  hearts  of  the  people.  For  the  first  time  they  saw  and 
felt  that  they  must  be  a  nation,  that  nationality  and  the 
perpetual  union  of  these  States  are  inseparable  and  indis 
pensable  to  their  existence,  and  that  the  patriot  must  die 
to  maintain  the  supremacy  of  the  flag  of  the  Union  against 
domestic  revolt  as  well  as  against  the  foreign  foe. 

During  the  next  thirty  years  the  sentiments  of  this  great 


238  Address  of  Mr.  Blair  on  the    . 

argument  were  repeated  everywhere  throughout  the  popu 
lous  and  ever-increasing  North. 

Its  magnificent  diction  made  it  a  classic  at  once  to  live 
forever  by  the  side  of  the  oration  of  Demosthenes  on  the 
Crown,  while  the  occasion  and  the  consequences  of  its 
delivery  were  infinitely  more  important.  Every  schoolboy 
declaimed  it,  every  student  studied  it,  every  professional 
man  sought  culture  and  inspiration  from  its  grand  and 
impressive  sentences,  its  logic,  its  sarcasm,  its  majesty,  and 
almost  supernatural  power. 

The  people  read  it  and  reread  it  and  read  it  again,  and 
ever  afterwards  they  called  him  the  "godlike."  That 
speech  was  the  platform  of  the  Union  armies  throughout 
the  war  for  the  Union,  and  if  its  sentiments  had  not  been 
growing  in  the  hearts  and  minds  of  the  people  of  the  North 
for  thirty  years  the  war  would  have  been  a  failure  and  the 
nation  would  have  been  lost.  Even  as  it  was,  at  its  out 
break  a  Northern  President  declared  that  he  could  not 
coerce  a  State.  But  if  he  could  not,  the  American  people 
had  so  studied  the  Constitution  under  Mr.  WEBSTER  that 
they  could  and  they  did.  But  they  never  would  have 
made  war  for  the  Union  if  they  had  not  first  been  welded 
into  a  real  nation  by  the  logic  and  power  of  Mr.  WEBSTER'S 
reply  to  Mr.  Hayne. 

Mr.  WEBSTER  performed  twenty-two  years  of  very  im 
portant  public  service  after  the  reply  to  Hayne,  which  was 
his  greatest  work,  and  the  greatest  work  ever  performed 
by  any  man  in  speech. 

But  I  rest  his  fame  and  the  tributes  we  bring  him  now 
upon  the  reply  to  Hayne.  All  else  he  ever  did,  and  it 
would  be  enough  to  immortalize  a  hundred  men,  is  as 


V 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        239 

nothing  in  comparison  to  the  argument  which  made  us  a 
nation,  and  will  preserve  us  a  nation  forevermore. 

In  the  autumn  of  1852,  at  Marshfield,  on  the  shore  of 
his  beloved  adopted  State,  his  majestic  form  gave  up  his 
mighty  spirit,  and,  as  though  the  mortal  was  conscious 
of  the  transition  to  immortality,  exclaiming,  "I  still 
live!" he  died. 

Sir,  his  excellency  Governor  John  B.  Smith,  with  his 
honorable  council,  have  made  it  one  of  the  important  meas 
ures  of  his  wise,  beneficent,  and  distinguished  adminis 
tration  of  the  affairs  of  New  Hampshire,  in  accordance 
with  the  action  of  her  legislature,  to  place  in  Statuary 
Hall  the  figure  of  this  extraordinary  man,  and  thus  to 
commemorate  the  great  actions  of  her  illustrious  son. 

JOHN  STARK  and  DANIEL  WEBSTER  represent  New 
Hampshire  in  yonder  Hall  filled  with  the  immortal  men 
whom  their  respective  States  do  most  delight  to  honor. 

STARK  in  war,  WEBSTER  in  peace  and  in  that  prepara 
tion  for  war  which  in  time  of  peace  his  labors  made  in  the 
minds  of  the  people,  and  without  which  the  greatest  of  all 
wars  would  have  failed.  Who  shall  say  that  the  selection 
of  New  Hampshire  is  not  well  made?  Yet  she  had  many 
other  worthy  sons,  and  among  her  Langdons  and  Whipples 
and  Bartletto  and  Thorntons  and  Weares  and  Livermores 
and  Sullivans  and  Cilleys,  and  hundreds  of  others  of  Revo 
lutionary  and  later  days,  the  choice  of  preeminence  was  not 
an  easy  task.  These,  I  may  proudly  say,  sir,  are  specimens 
of  her  equal  rather  than  of  her  greatest  work. 

As  I  linger  in  thought  over  her  noble  history;  as  I  dwell 
upon  the  enchantment  of  her  scenery,  her  mountains,  her 
vales,  and  her  waters;  her  soil,  stubborn  but  producing 


240  Address  of  Mr.  Blair  on  the 

the  choicest  growths  of  her  latitude;  her  forests,  which 
defy  the  storm  and  the  thunderbolt,  so  thai  it  scarcely 
rends  the  stalwart  trunk  which  conducts  it  to  the  earth ;  her 
waters,  which  surpass  the  nectar  of  the  gods  in  ambrosial 
purity,  and  which  move  more  wealth-producing  machinery 
than  any  equal  power  anywhere  else  on  earth ;  her  beauty 
of  form  and  feature;  her  sweet  breath,  that  heals  the  sick 
and  inspires  the  exhausted  sons  and  daughters  of  toil  from 
other  States  and  lands  still  more  remote  with  life  and  hope 
and  resolution;  of  her  institutions  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty  and  of  her  rich  contributions  to  all  that  is  great 
and  good  and  glorious  in  this  world,  and  of  the  deeds  of 
the  great  dead  whom  she  has  given  to  the  eternal  and  the 
unseen,  but  whose  examples  survive  forever  to  instruct  and 
ennoble  mankind,  I  feel  the  eulogium  spontaneously  spring 
ing  to  my  lips,  which  I  suppress  only  because  I  know  that 
the  modesty  of  New  Hampshire  will  leave  to  the  Genius 
of  Columbia  to  utter  it  in  this  high  presence  and  among 
her  generous  sister  States: 

Many  daughters  have  done  virtuously,  but  thou  excellest  them  all. 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.       241 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  EVERETT. 

Mr.  SPEAKER:  When  the  State  of  New  Hampshire  pre 
sents  to  the  nation  statues  of  JOHN  STARK  and  DANIEL 
WEBSTER,  the  Commonwealth,  of  Massachusetts  feels  that 
she  has  no  doubtful  part  to  take  in  the  appropriate  exer 
cises.  It  was  on  her  soil  that  JOHN  STARK  hastened  to 
join  the  gathering  armies  of  American  liberty;  and  his 
courage,  his  persistency,  and  his  prudence  exhibited 
themselves  in  their  fullest  luster  at  Bunker  Hill,  close  to 
the  spot  which  Winthrop  chose  for  his  plantation.  Without 
JOHN  STARK  that  glorious  defeat  might  have  been  a  real  as 
well  as  a  nominal  victory  for  the  oppressors  of  Massa 
chusetts. 

But  when  DANIEL  WEBSTER  is  the  theme  of  our  ad 
dresses,  Massachusetts  claims  something  more  than  a  mere 
appreciative  or  sympathetic  share  in  his  renown.  He 
came  to  Boston  in  early  manhood,  and,  with  no  recom 
mendation  but  \vhat  appeared  in  his  face  and  conversation, 
studied  law  with  our  honored  governor,  Christopher  Gore, 
one  of  the  most  learned,  patriotic,  and  high-minded  of  our 
earlier  jurists  and  statesmen.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
of  our  Suffolk  County  before  he  entered  that  of  his  own 
Hillsboro.  When  his  Congressional  service  from  New 
Hampshire  was  over,  he  transferred  his  home  and  his  prac 
tice  to  Boston,  after  hesitating  between  that  and  Albany, 
as  offering  the  wider  field.  He  served  in  the  convention 
of  1820,  which  recast  our  ancient  constitution  so  well 
1 6  s — w 


242  Address  of  Mr.  Everett  on  the 

that  it  has  needed  no  general  remodelling  in  the  lapse  of 
seventy-four  years. 

In  that  year,  1820,  he  electrified  the  nation  by  a  mighty 
strain  of  eloquence  at  the  anniversary  of  the  landing  at 
Plymouth;  and  again  in  1825  by  n^s  oration  on  laying  the 
corner  stone  of  the  Bunker  Hill  Monument  in  the  presence 
of  Lafayette.  For  a  few  days  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Massachusetts  legislature.  •  Thrice  he  was  elected  to  this 
House  by  the  votes  of  the  city  of  Boston,  and  as  many 
times  to  the  United  States  Senate  by  the  legislature  of 
Massachusetts.  At  our  bar  were  won  some  of  his  most 
distinguished  forensic  triumphs,  notably  that  amazing 
argument  in  the  case  of  the  murder  of  Captain  White,  where 
his  description  of  the  workings  of  a  guilty  conscience 
makes  everyone  with  the  slightest  stain  on  his  soul  feel  as 
if  the  great  pleader's  hand  was  inserted  in  his  breast  and 
the  fingers  working  among  the  very  fibres  of  his  heart. 
As  the  representative  of  Massachusetts,  the  walls  of  yon 
der  venerable  halls  rang  with  the  thunders  of  his  voice, 
and  statesmen  from  every  part  of  our  common  country 
drew  in  his  messages  of  profound  wisdom,  of  burning  elo 
quence,  of  exalted  patriotism;  pilgrims  from  afar  flocked 
to  gaze  on  the  man  of  whom  it  is  hard  to  say  whether  the 
admiration  of  strangers  or  the  love  of  his  own  was  most 
conspicuous. 

Retaining  the  possession  and  the  love  of  his  paternal 
acres  along  the  Merrimac,  he  made  a  seaside  home  on  the 
shores  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  which  was  consecrated  by  the 
tombs  of  the  Winslow  family,  the  descendants  of  Edward 
Winslow,  second  to  none  among  those  Pilgrim  Fathers 
whose  services  he  had  so  nobly  commemorated;  and  there, 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        243 

when  his  long  work  of  devotion  and  honor  was  done,  the 
stalwart  frame  which  first  drew  breath  in  the  fields  of  New 
Hampshire  was  laid  to  rest  in  the  soil  of  his  adopted  State, 
among  the  saints  and  heroes  of  Massachusetts. 

You  gave  him  to  us  as  your  most  precious  treasure;  we 
accepted,  we  honored,  we  loved,  we  kept  him  as  our  own. 
For  through  all  these  years  of  his  adoption  Mr.  WEB 
STER  retained  the  confidence  and  love  of  our  Common 
wealth.  There  was  no  one  who  so  completely  felt  with 
her  feelings  and  spoke  with  her  voice.  Like  every  public 
man,  he  had  his  opponents,  and  their  opposition  at  times 
was  deep  and  bitter,  their  tones  rude  and  harsh.  At  certain 
periods  of  his  life  it  seemed  as  if  the  ancient  ties  must  be 
severed  and  the  ancient  love  wax  cold,  but  before  the  sad"- 
day  of  his  death  the  clouds  had  parted,  and  few  indeed 
there  were  within  the  borders  of  the  Bay  State  who  did  not 
feel  that  that  hour  had  removed  the  man  who  stood  before 
the  nation  as  our  one  true  representative.  When  his  statue 
holds  its  place  by  yonder  entrance  we  feel  no  jealousy  of 
New  Hampshire  that  the  visitor  to  the  Hall  finds  her  son 
as  the  doorkeeper  to  the  representatives  of  the  nation; 
there  is  no  feeling  but  generous  rivalry  that  the  entrance 
lies  under  the  overshadowing  presence  of  him  who  is  ours 
as  he  is  yours. 

I  shall  not  be  guilty  of  the  impropriety  of  detailing  Mr. 
WEBSTER'S  career  at  this  hour;  but  shall  speak  in  com 
memoration  of  two  things  only  which  I  conceive  place  him 
upon  a  pinnacle  of  exalted  honor  where  there  are  very  few 
at  his  side.  He  was  an  American  patriot;  he  lived  for  the 
Union.  He  loved  New  Hampshire,  he  loved  Massachusetts 
with  all  his  heart;  but  he  never  thought  of  either  except 


244  Address  of  Mr.  Everett  on  the 

as  belonging  to  one  glorious,  indissoluble,  perpetual  whole. 
He  knew  well  that  his  own  State,  the  first  colony  to  form  a 
State  constitution,  did  not  do  so  till  she  had  asked  the 
advice  of  the  Continental  Congress  delegates  from  the 
whole  thirteen.  The  Union  as  the  only  protection,  nay,  as 
the  inseparable  adjunct  of  our  liberty,  the  Constitution  as 
the  embodiment  alike  of  our  national  and  our  State  exist 
ence,  were  all  in  all  to  him.  He  would  not  admit,  he  could 
not  conceive,  of  the  States,  his  own  or  any  other,  separated 
from  the  Union,  any  more  than  he  could  fancy  one  star  in 
the  belt  of  Orion  separate  from  the  gorgeous  sisterhood 
which  it  joins  to  form  those  names  of  splendor. 

In  weal  and  in  woe,  in  cloud  or  in  sunshine,  each  State 
looking  each  other  in  the  face  or  presenting  a  serried  front 
to  the  other  nations,  he  poured  in  the  ears  of  his  people  one 
message  for  encouragement  or  warning,  that,  united,  we 
are  all  that  our  wildest  imagination  or  ambition  can  claim; 
divided,  we  are  wrorse  than  nothing.  On  every  spot  of 
American  soil  he  saw  his  equal  home.  The  Buckeye  and 
the  Palmetto  were  as  dear  to  him  as  the  Pine  and  the  Oak. 
In  the  paradise  of  our  Western  land,  this  garden  planted  by 
the  hand  of  God,  he  conceived  that  every  State  must  send 
up  her  own  growth,  by  the  blending  of  their  sturdy  stocks, 
their  verdant  shades,  their  grateful  fruits  of  every  stature 
and  type  and  hue,  to  cast  over  this  broad  continent  that 
mingled  fragrance  which  should  breathe  forever  of  liberty, 
of  order,  of  progress,  and  of  hope  for  man. 

As  the  champion  of  the  Union,  he  was  dear  to  every 
section  of  the  country.  When  others  saw  parts  only,  he 
saw,  he  cheered,  he  inspired  the  whole.  He  was  as  dear 
to  Kentucky  as  to  New  Hampshire ;  to  Georgia  as  to 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        '245 

Massachusetts.  He  died  as  he  wished  to  die,  before  his  eyes 
might  gaze  "on  a  land  rent  with  civil  feuds  and  drenched 
in  fraternal  blood,  on  States  dissevered,  discordant,  bellig 
erent;"  and  in  that  terrible  time,  Mr.  Speaker,  which 
racked  the  hearts  of  all,  how  many  were  there  not,  in  your 
State  as  in  mine,  who  turned  a  wistful  glance  to  the  like 
ness  of  those  dark  features  so  familiar  in  every  American 
household  and  breathed  with  a  sigh,  "If  thou  hadst  been 
here,  our  brothers  had  not  died. ' ' 

This  devotion  to  the  Union  was  the  spring  whence  flowed 
all  Mr.  WEBSTER'S  Senatorial  and  many  of  his  forensic 
utterances.  He  impressed  it  upon  his  countrymen  by 
oratory,  whereof  he  was  an  unquestioned  master.  There. 
is  this  characteristic  of  Mr.  WEBSTER'S  eloquence,  wherein 
it  differs  from  the  speech  of  many  of  his  most  admired  con 
temporaries,  that  it  is  of  permanent  value.  It  stands  the 
test  of  reading  and  rehearsal.  You  may  take  the  speeches 
of  many  illustrious  men  which  thrilled  their  audiences  to 
shouts  and  tears,  and  try  to  reproduce  their  effect  now;  the 
printed  word  is  cold  and  dead  without  the  magic  of  the 
circumstances  which  evoked  them  and  the  voices  which 
uttered  them.  But  the  crudest  schoolboy  can  elicit  from 
the  most  hackneyed  periods  of  WEBSTER,  as  he  can  from 
those  of  Chatham  and  of  Gladstone,  strains  of  conviction 
and  of  pathos  which  shall  penetrate  and  stir  strong  men  and 
tender  women  now  as  they  did  sixty  years  ago. 

At  home  his  name  was  the  symbol  of  union.  Of  what 
was  it  abroad  ?  I  desire  to  recall  a  single  episode  in  his 
career,  when  the  dispute  on  the  Maine  boundary  threat 
ened  to  plunge  us  into  a  war  with  England.  President 
Tyler's  Administration  had  inherited  from  President  Van 


246  Address  of  Mr.  Everett  on  the 

Buren's  the  seeds  of  strife  with  Great  Britain.  The  oldest 
States  were  chafing-  in  the  Northeast;  the  newest  Terri 
tories  in  the  Northwest.  The  people  of  Maine  believed— 
their  descendants  believe  to-day — that  the  Northeastern 
claims  of  Great  Britain  had  no  warrant  in  the  treaty  of  1783. 
The  line  proposed  by  the  King-  of  Holland  had  been  indig 
nantly  rejected.  The  pioneers  of  the  Columbia  were 
equally  incensed.  Throughout  the  country  and  all  along 
the  frontier  fiery  spirits  were  eager  to  rush  to  arms.  Sup 
pose  Mr.  WEBSTER  had  caught  up  that  sentiment;  sup 
pose  that  when  Sir  Robert  Peel  suggested  the  hope  of  i 
compromise  line  and  sent  a  special  envoy,  Mr.  WEBSTER 
had  refused  the  proposal ;  had  defied  Sir  Robert  Peel  and 
Lord  Ashburton;  had  appealed  to  the  war  spirit  of  the  coun 
try  from  Maine  to  Louisiana;  had  launched  the  yeomanry  and 
chivalry  of  the  Union  simultaneously  across  the  St.  Croix, 
the  St.  Lawrence,  the  Columbia,  and  the  Sabine;  had  sent 
the  Princeton  on  her  first  cruise  to  open  against  the  Kng- 
lish  that  deep-mouthed  ordnance  which  was  to  prove  so 
fatal  to  his  own  successor.  Why,  at  the  end  of  Mr.  Tyler's 
Administration  he  might  have  floated  into  the  White  House, 
triumphantly  borne  on  waves  of  blood,  as  the  great  war 
Secretary  !  A  more  brilliant  prospect  of  glory  rarely  offers 
itself  to  republican  statesmen.  Mr.  WEBSTER  knew  bet 
ter.  He  knew  that  the  torch  of  war  as  it  sweeps  over 
kindred  nations,  however  it  may  dazzle  or  may  warm  at  the 
moment,  leaves  behind  it  a  terrible  train  of  woe — not 
merely  the  wounds  and  deaths  of  thousands  who  can  ill 
be  spared  to  their  country;  not  merely  blasted  fields  and 
ruined  families;  not  merely  the  cost  of  millions,  which 
a  peace  of  tenfold  duration  can  hardly  repair,  but  the 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        247 

rankling  passions  and  nnsatiated  vengeance  of  mighty 
nations,  which  God  made  to  live  together  in  unity,  peace, 
and  concord. 

Mr.  WEBSTER'S  acceptance  of  a  boundary  line  brought 
upon  him  the  malignant  reproaches  of  all  that  is  ignorant 
and  base  on  both  sides  of  the  water,  both  for  what  he  kept 
and  what  he  gave.  All  that  he  renounced  would  have  been 
a  trifling  price  to  pay  for  the  first  extradition  treaty,  \vhich 
he  achieved  at  the  same  time ;  but  it  was  repaid  tenfold 
by  the  glorious  victory  of  peace  between  sister  nations, 
who  never  ought  to  be  at  war. 

The  honors  to  which  Mr.  WEBSTER  rose,  as  the  just 
rewards  of  his  exertions,  were  not  all  that  his  generous  and 
well-founded  ambition  expected;  they  were  not  all  that" 
his  State  deemed  he  deserved.  Massachusetts  had  not  been 
afraid  to  cast  her  electoral  vote  for  him  when  no  other 
State  stood  by  her  side.  It  was  under  a  burden  of  disap 
pointment,  a  sense  of  ingratitude,  that  he  lay  down  to  rest 
at  last,  where  his  requiem  is  chanted  by  the  waves  of  that 
ocean  to  which  he  resorted  so  eagerly  for  sport  and  recrea 
tion,  on  which  he  gazed  not  as  the  barrier  which  Provi 
dence  has  raised  to  sever  hostile  lands,  but  as  the  great  field 
for  friendly  intercourse,  opening  for  peaceful  traffic,  as  the 
road  where  the  white-winged  squadrons  of  trade  and  amity 
can  pass  to  and  fro  between  united  and  trusting  peoples. 

Xo;  he  did  not  gain  the  highest  reward  of  an  American 
statesman.  And  what  if  he  did  not  gain  it  ?  The  crown  of 
honor  as  an  orator,  a  statesman,  a  patriot,  can  afford  to  lack 
a  single  jewel  when  starred  with  gems  of  such  varied  lustre; 
and  when  his  native  State  sets  his  statue  in  yonder  sacred 
Hall,  we  may  repeat  of  him,  with  scarcely  an  alteration,  the 


248  Address  of  Mr.  Everett  on  the 

lines  which  welcome  to  Westminster  Abbey  the  dust  of  an 
earlier  secretary  of  state:  • 

Along  the  walls  where  speaking  marbles  show 
What  worthies  form  the  hallowed  mold  below; 
Proud  names,  who  once  the  reins  of  empire  hel'd; 
In  arms  who  triumphed,  or.  in  arts  excelled; 
Chiefs,  graced  with  scars,  and  prodigal  of  blood; 
Stern  patriots,  who  for  sacred  freedom  stood ; 
Just  men,  by  whom  impartial  laws  were  given, 
And  saints  who  taught  and  led  the  way  to  heaven — 
Ne'er  to  these  chambers  where  the  mighty  rest 
Since  their  foundation  came  a  nobler  guest. 

Mr.  Speaker,  I  have  discharged,  most  imperfectly  I  know, 
a  debt  resting  on  me  as  a  Representative  of  Massachu 
setts,  a  lover  of  his  country,  and  an  admirer  of  whatever 
is  grand  in  public  life.  But  I  have  tried  to  do  more;  I 
have  tried  to  pay  a  debt  of  hereditary  gratitude,  of  friend 
ship,  of  love.  I  am  old  enough  to  have  sat  by  his  side  and 
gazed  into  his  face  —  old  enough  to  have  received  from  his 
lips  the  seal  of  hereditary  affection,  the  renewal  of  one  that 
lasted  unbroken  for  long  over  forty  years.  I  am  old 
enough  to  remember  how  the  silence  of  a  New  England 
Sunday  morning  was  broken  by  the  deep-toned  bell  which 
told  that  he  had  passed  away,  and  chilled  the  hearts  of  the 
boys  and  girls  as  well  as  of  the  men  and  women  of  Massa 
chusetts. 

It  is  a  distinguished  honor  to  respond  for  Massachusetts 
when  she  welcomes  the  statue  of  that  mighty  son  whom  she 
shares  with  New  Hampshire.  It  is  a  delight  to  awaken  the 
passing  echoes  of  that  man's  renown,  who,  besides  the 
admiration  he  won  from  all  his  countrymen  and  the  respect 
he  extorted  from  every  nation,  bound  to  him  his  friends, 
now,  alas!  a  few  and  feeble  band,  by  a  chain  of  undying 
love  whose  lustre  memory  only  makes  brighter  as  time  with 
draws  its  links  farther  and  farther  into  the  unseen  world. 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.       249 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  CURTIS,  OF  NEW  YORK. 

Mr.  SPEAKER:  It  is  not  my  purpose  to  ask  the  indul 
gence  of  the  House  to  give  an  extended  review  of  the 
services  of  JOHN  STARK  and  DANIEL  WEBSTER.  The 
Representatives  of  New  Hampshire  have  done  that  in 
fitting  words  and  in  ample  form. 

JOHN  STARK  was  a  striking  personality.  He  had  the 
genius  of  a  military  leader,  uniting  clear  conception  of 
purpose  to  prompt  action,  consummate  skill  to  intrepid 
boldness,  and  the  power  of  imparting  to  others  when  in 
battle  his  own  personal  characteristics,  and  to  impel  them 
to  the  most  heroic  action.  This  magnetic  power  he  had  in 
an  extraordinary  degree.  It  comes  as  a  birthright,  and  is 
a  gift  which  it  is  not  the  province  of  technical  schools  to 
create  nor  experience  to  teach. 

He  conducted  compaigns  against  the  skulking  Indian 
and  the  disciplined  soldier  of  the  British  army  with  con 
spicuous  and  unvarying  success.  When  called  by  the  exi 
gencies  of  the  service  to  strategic  points,  he  marched  with 
the  force  at  his  disposal,  calling  for  volunteers  from  the 
section  through  which  he  passed,  and  organized  raw  re 
cruits  into  battalions,  which  he  fought  with  such  courage 
and  impetuosity  that  they  overwhelmed  veteran  troops. 
His  presence  multiplied  their  efficiency  as  though  their 
numbers  had  been  doubled,  and  Colonel  Baum,  whose 
command  (as  well  as  his  reserves,  under  Colonel  Breyman) 
was  captured  by  STARK  at  Bennington,  acknowledged 
that  in  his  report,  saying:  "They  fought  more  like  hell 
hounds  than  soldiers." 


250  Address  of  Mr.  Curtis  on  the 

His  important  victory  at  Bennington  contributed  very 
materially  to  the  success  of  our  arms  in  the  decisive  battle 
of  Saratoga,  in  which  the  Continental  army  won  against 
the  generalship  of  the  most  accomplished  soldier  England 
sent  to  America  during  the  Revolutionary  war.  JOHN 
STARK  was,  throughout  his  long  years  of  public  service, 
true,  valiant,  and  eminently  successful,  a  conspicuous  rep 
resentative  of  the  martial  spirit  and  the  patriotic  devotion 
which  won  our  independence. 

DANIEL  WEBSTER  was  born  in  the  early  days  of  the 
nation's  independence.  If  the  Muses  attend  at  the  birth 
of  poets  and  "feed  them  on  thoughts  that  voluntary 
move  harmonious  numbers,  "  so  may  DANIEL  WEBSTER'S 
have  been  attended  by  the  guardian  angel  of  the  Republic, 
for  his  life  was  one  of  devotion  to  the  Federal  Union.  He 
gave  a  forecast  of  his  future  in  his  first  public  address, 
delivered  when  a  college  student  at  eighteen  years  of  age, 
in  which  he  commended  "love  of  country,"  praised  the 
"grandeur  of  the  American  nationality,  fidelity  to  the  Con 
stitution,  and  the  nobility  of  the  Union  of  the  States." 

One  of  the  first  important  cases  in  which  he  was 
retained  related  to  the  charter  of  his  alma  mater,  and 
involved  a  construction  of  the  Federal  Constitution.  His 
argument  in  support  of  the  principles  he  maintained  was 
sustained  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  in  a 
decision  which  was  the  first  to  define  the  scope  and 
supremacy  of  the  Federal  Constitution,  and  which  has 
since  stood  as  a  correct  interpretation  of  its  sovereign 
authority.  Later,  in  the  United  States  Senate,  preceding, 
pending,  and  following  nullification,  he  again  asserted  its 
principles,  then  vigorously  disputed;  and  a  generation 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.       251 

afterwards,  at  the  close  of  a  fratricidal  war,  his  interpreta 
tion  was  accepted  by  all.  He  saw  with  prophetic  vision 
what  dire  results  a  different  construction  would  produce, 
and  prayed  that  ' '  his  eyes  should  never  behold  discordant, 
dismembered  States,  a  land  drenched  in  fraternal  blood.  " 
The  strife  came  after  his  glorious  career  was  ended,  and 
"the  error,  the  heresy  of  opinion"  he  so  eloquently  com 
bated  could  never  have  been  overcome  except  by  the  appeal 
and  the  sacrifices  which  were  made;  but  the  end  of  the 
civil  war  brought  a  full  acceptance  of  the  principles  he  had 
contended  for  as  essentially  requisite  to  the  preservation  of 
the  Union. 

Lamartine  has  said:  "There  are  certain  men  whom 
nature  has  endowed  with  distinct  privileges.  Their  ambi 
tion,  instead  of  being  the  offspring  of  passion,  is  the 
emanation  of  mental  power.  They  do  not  aspire,  but 
they  mount  by  an  irresistible  force,  as  the  aerostatic  globe 
rises  above  an  element  heavier  than  itself,  by  the  sole 
superiority  of  specific  ascendency."  Among  the  favored 
few  thus  richly  endowed,  whose  intellect  and  devotion  have 
been  a  benefaction  to  the  people  of  this  country,  DANIEL 
WEBSTER  stands  preeminently  at  the  head. 

When  Congress,  on  the  2d  of  July,  1864,  "authorized 
the  President  to  invite  each  and  all  the  States  to  furnish 
statues  in  marble  or  bronze,  not  exceeding  two  for  each 
State,  of  deceased  persons  who  have  been  citizens  thereof 
and  illustrious  for  historic  renown  or  for  distinguished 
civic  or  military  services,"  the  country  was  at  the  crisis  of 
the  mighty  contest  for  its  preservation.  Men  of  stout 
hearts  and  unswerving  patriotism  directed  public  affairs, 
and,  with  confidence  in  the  ultimate  triumph  of  the  Union 


252  Address  of  Mr.  Curtis  on  the 

cause,  Congress  dedicated  the  old  Hall  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  as  a  National  Statuary  Hall,  thus  formally 
declaring  that  the  Capitol  at  Washington  was,  and  should 
forever  be,  the  Capitol  of  an  undivided  country. 

The  States  responding  to  the  invitation  have  sent,  with 
rare  discrimination,  life-sized  images  in  imperishable  mar 
ble  of  men  most  conspicuous  for  services  in  establishing 
and  maintaining  the  Federal  Government.  New  Hamp 
shire  sends  a  faithful  image  of  her  citizen  soldier,  who  was 
the  embodiment  of  civic  virtue  and  martial  genius,  and  of 
him  whose  loving  heart,  massive  intellect,  and  eloquent 
tongue  were  ever  exerted  for  humanity,  liberty,  and  prog 
ress  ;  the  expounder  and  defender  of  the  Constitution. 
They  will  stand  in  silent  companionship  with  the  statues 
of  eminent  Americans  conspicuous  in  the  struggle  for* 
independence  and  the  preservation  of  the  Union;  with 
Washington,  Hamilton,  Jefferson,  and  their  compatriots, 
who  achieved  our  independence;  with  Lincoln  and  his 
associates  in  the  cause  of  preserving  the  Union — men  who 
preeminently  excelled  in  the  value  of  their  patriotic 
labors  in  the  cause  of  humanity  and  constitutional  govern 
ment  the  achievements  of  the  historic  characters  of  any 
previous  age. 

In  accepting  these  statues,  let  all,  and  especially  those 
who  took  part,  on  whichever  side,  in  the  great  conflict  in 
which  these  disturbing  questions  were  finally  and,  as  we 
all  believe,  wisely  and  justly  settled,  make  grateful  ac 
knowledgment  to  Almighty  God  for  His  blessings  on  their 
beneficent  services  to  us  as  a  nation,  and  ever  declare,  in 
the  words  of  the  American  statesman's  prayer,  "Liberty 
and  Union,  now  and  forever,  one  and  inseparable!" 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        253 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  MORSE. 

Mr.  SPEAKER:  I  can  hardly  hope  to  add  anything  to  the 
eloquent  words  which  have  been  spoken  on  this  occasion 
by  my  colleague  and  the  distinguished  gentlemen  who 
have  preceded  me,  and  my  speech  will  be  brief. 

At  Marshfield,  in  my  district,  was  the  Massachusetts 
home  of  DANIEL  WEBSTER,  and  at  Marshfield  lie  buried 
the  mortal  remains  of  the  great  expounder  and  defender  of 
the  Constitution;  and  the  waters  of  Massachusetts  Bay 
have  washed  the  shores  of  that  ancient  town  and  sung  a 
lullaby  to  the  sleeper  there  for  nearly  half  a  century. 

Air.  Speaker,  New  Hampshire,  the  birthplace  of  the 
godlike  DANIEL,  honors  the  State  and  her  illustrious  son 
by  this  act  in  the  presence  of  her  distinguished  governor 
to-day,  and  honors  Massachusetts  as  well  by  this  tribute  to 
her  illustrious  and  adopted  son. 

Yes,  at  Marshfield,  in  my  district,  hard  by  old  Plymouth, 
where  sleep  the  Pilgrims,  and  where  the  gigantic  statue 
of  Faith  surmounts  the  monument  to  their  memory;  hard 
by  old  Duxbury,  where  the  monument  to  Miles  Standish 
casts  its  shadow  on  the  sea;  hard  by  old  Hingham,  where 
stands  the  statue  of  Massachusetts'  great  war  governor, 
John  A.  Andrew,  whose  finger  points  to  the  bar  of  God, 
whose  evenhanded  justice  he  invoked  for  all  men  without 
regard  to  race,  color,  or  condition;  hard  by  old  Quincy, 
where  rest  the  mortal  remains  of  two  Presidents — John 
Adams,  the  second  President  of  the  United  States,  and 
John  Quincy  Adams,  the  Old  Man  Eloquent,  who,  after  he 
had  been  President,  for  sixteen  years  stood  in  this  Capitol  as 


254  Address  of  Mr.  Morse  on  the 

the  representative  of  substantially  the  same  district  which 
I  have  the  honor  to  represent,  and  who  died  a,t  the  post  of 
duty  in  yonder  hall,  February  23,  1848,  saying,  "This  is 
the  last  of  earth;  I  am  content" — in  that  part  of  the  old 
Commonwealth,  rich  in  history,  big  with  great  men,  re 
nowned  in  all  our  history;  I  say,  in  the  old  God-fearing 
town  of  Marshfield  DANIEL  WEBSTER  lived  and  died. 
Here  he  looked  out  on  the  scenes  of  earth  for  the  last  time, 
and  uttered  his  last  words,  "I  still  live." 

Surrounded  by  his  friends  and  those  he  loved,  he  bade 
adieu  to  the  scenes  of  earth,  and,  as  all  must  do,  great  and 
small,  sooner  or  later,  he  crossed  the  great  divide;  he 
entered  on  the  awful  and  untried  realities  of  the  eternal 
world.  From  the  windows  of  his  chamber  he  took  his  last 
long  look  at  the  waters  of  Massachusetts  Bay  and  the  old 
ocean  he  loved  so  well — the  old  ocean  whose  farthermost 
waters  washed  the  shores  of  sunny  Spain,  but  to  his  eye  as 
boundless  and  shoreless  as  eternity,  upon  which  he  was 
soon  to  enter.  And  the  men  of  Massachusetts  clasped 
each  others'  hands  and  looked  in  each  others'  faces,  and 
said,  "Our  pilot  has  dropped  from  the  helm;  who  now 
shall  guide  our  ship  of  state?"  And  Massachusetts  and 
the  country  were  stilled  in  mourning  and  sorrow  for  the 
great  man  who  had  fallen,  for  the  patriot  who  lay  dead  on 
his  shield,  for  the  orator  and  statesman  who  had  died  at 
the  post  of  duty,  and  forty-two  years  later  we  have  met  on 
this  solemn  occasion  to  do  honor  to  his  memory. 

Mr.  Speaker,  as  I  looked  up  in  the  face  of  the  marble 
statue  after  it  was  unveiled  to-day,  I  said  to  myself,  could 
the  stone  heart  beat,  could  the  marble  lips  move,  could 
the  tongue  of  marble  speak,  what  would  he  say  to  his 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        255 

countrymen  here  now  assembled?  Methinks  he  would 
repeat  over  the  prayer  contained  in  his  immortal  reply  to 
Hayne,  of  South  Carolina: 

When  these  eyes  shall  behold  the  sun  in  heaven  for  the  last  time, 
may  they  not  behold  it  shining  upon  the  broken  and  dishonored 
fragments  of  a  once  glorious  Union. 

Mr.  Speaker,  how  can  we  close  the  services  of  this 
solemn  and  interesting  occasion  better  than  by  repeating 
over- the  watchword  of  this  great  son  of  Massachusetts  in 
the  speech  to  which  I  have  referred?  How  can  we  close 
these  historical  and  memorial  services  better  than  by 
repeating  his  immortal  words,  the  watchword  of  this  great 
expounder  and  defender  of  the  Constitution  ;  this  man  of 
giant  mind  and  masterly  intellect  and  overmastering- 
genius,  the  great  DANIEL  WEBSTER,  made  immortal  on 
the  canvas  in  Faneuil  Hall: 

Liberty  and  Union,  now  and  forever,  one  and  inseparable. 


256  Address  of  Mr.  Baker  on  the 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  BAKER,  OF  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 

Mr.  SPEAKER:  DANIEL  WEBSTER  was  born  in  the  best 
room  of  the  small  frame  house  which  had  succeeded  the 
log  cabin  of  early  days,  on  a  rocky  upland  farm,  that,  nest 
ling  among  the  New  Hampshire  hills,  gently  sloped  to 
ward  the  east  and  south.  Near  by  was  his  father's  saw 
mill,  which  furnished  employment  when  the  farm  work 
was  done  and  supplemented  the  scanty  returns  of  the  soil. 
He  was  the  son  of  Ebenezer  and  Abigail  Eastman  Webster. 
Ebenezer  Webster  had  served  with  STARK  in  "Rodgers's 
Rangers,"  was  with  him  on  Dorchester  Heights  and  at 
Bennington.  He  was  a  brave,  honest,  hardy,  patriotic,  and 
progressive  pioneer,  a  leader  among  his  neighbors,  who 
held  their  personal  esteem  and  full  confidence,  so  that  he 
was  elected  to  many  offices  of  honor,  responsibility,  and 
trust.  He  was  a  prominent  member  of  the  New  Hamp 
shire  convention  which  ratified  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  and  was  very  influential  in  securing  the 
favorable  action  which  made  that  State  the  ninth  to  ap 
prove  the  Constitution  and  thus  establish  our  Government. 

Mrs.  Webster  was  the  worthy  wife  of  such  a  husband, 
patiently  and  lovingly  bearing  her  full  share  of  the  cares 
and  privations  incident  to  their  country  life  and  poverty. 
Their  family  was  large,  and  they  labored  incessantly  to 
support  and  educate  them.  Their  entire  property  was 
heavily  mortgaged  to  give  their  sons  Ezekiel  and  DANIEL 
a  collegiate  education.  Mrs.  Webster  did  not  hesitate  to 
approve  the  loan  which  might  have  left  her  homeless,  but 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.       257 

which  was  necessary  to  educate  her  sons.  While  the 
children  were  small  Mr.  Webster  sold  the  old  farm  where 
DANIEL  was  born,  and  moved  to  a  better  one  on  the  Mer- 
rimack  River.  There  much  of  DANIEL'S  childhood  was 
passed.  In  later  life  he  owned  this  farm,  and  occasionally 
retired  to  it  to  rest  from  the  cares  of  public  life  and  escape 
from  the  crowds  which  frequently  followed  him  to  Marsh- 
field. 

The  time  at  my  disposal  will  not  permit  a  detailed  nar 
rative  of  young  WTEBSTER'S  boyhood  or  education.  When 
fifteen  years  old  he  entered  Dartmouth  College,  and  grad 
uated  four  years  later  with  high  honors.  While  in  college 
he  delivered  several  public  addresses  and  for  a  time  edited 
a  weekly  paper.  After  graduation  he  read  law  in  his  na- " 
tive  county  and  in  the  office  of  Christopher  Gore,  in 
Boston.  Upon  admission  to  the  bar  he  practiced  for  a  few 
years  in  the  courts  of  central  New  Hampshire  with  great 
success,  impressing  court  and  jury  with  his  wonderful 
personality  and  persuasive  oratory. 

Soon  he  outgrew  this  country  practice  and  moved  to 
Portsmouth,  where  he  encountered  Jeremiah  Mason,  the 
leader  of  the  bar  and  one  of  the  soundest  lawyers  New 
England  ever  produced.  This  was  very  fortunate  for 
WEBSTER.  He  had  an  opponent  worthy  of  his  great  pow 
ers,  and  was  compelled  to  exert  them  to  the  utmost.  At 
no  period  of  his  life  did  he  work  harder  or  his  reputa 
tion  increase  more  rapidly. 

Thus  far  he  had  devoted  himself  to  the  law,  and  had 

accepted  no  office.     The  people  now  called  him  to  public 

duty.     He  was  elected  to  the  Thirteenth   Congress,    and 

took  his  seat  in  May,  1813.     He  opposed  some  of  the  ultra 

17  s — w 


258  Address  of  Mr.  Baker  on  the 

war  measures,  and  was  particularly  bitter  against  the 
embargo  and  non-importation  acts.  He  as  earnestly  favored 
the  establishment  of  a  sound  national  bank. 

He  was  reelected  to  the  Fourteenth  Congress,  and  again 
advocated  a  sound  currency  based  upon  specie  payment, 
and  favored  liberal  internal  improvements.  He  believed 
them  authorized  by  the  Constitution. 

At  the  close  of  this  Congress  he  retired  for  a  time  from 
public  life,  and,  leaving  his  native  State,  opened  an  office 
in  Boston.  His  practice  at  once  became  extensive  and  lu 
crative,  for  his  reputation  had  been  established  and  he  was 
well  known  at  the  Suffolk  bar.  While  in  Congress  he  had 
become  one  of  the  leaders  of  his  party.  Everywhere  he 
was  in  honor,  and  was  beginning  himself  to  realize  his 
tremendous  power  before  the  courts  and  in  the  nation. 
The  next  year  he  argued  the  famous  "Dartmouth  College 
case"  in  the  Supreme  Court,  and  established  the  doctrine 
of  vested  rights  on  so  firm  a  basis  that  even  now  it  over 
shadows  the  land.  Seldom,  if  ever,  did  WEBSTER  surpass 
in  dramatic  power  his  speech  in  this  case.  When  at  the 
close  of  the  argument  his  heart  found  expression  in  the 
words,  "It  is,  sir,  as  I  have  said,  a  small  college  ;  and  yet 
there  are  those  who  love  it,"  he  broke  down  under  the 
intensity  of  his  feelings,  his  voice  faltered,  and  his  eyes 
filled  with  tears.  This  departure  from  the  usual  course  of 
legal  argument  was  unpremeditated  and  genuine.  It  won 
the  sympathy  of  the  court,  and  possibly  the  case.  In  no 
instance  in  his  long  professional  career  did  he  show  greater 
power  or  better  management  than  in  this  defense  of  his 
alma  mater. 

Clients  now  thronged  his  office,  and  probably  more  cases 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  IVebster.        259 

were  declined  than  accepted.  He  argued  many  causes  in 
the  Supreme  Court  each  one  of  which  would  have  become 
an  era  in  the  life  of  most  lawyers.  This  occasion  will  not 
justify  an  enumeration  of  them,  much  less  an  attempt  to 
state  the  important  points  involved  or  an  abstract  of 
WEBSTER'S  arguments.  They  were  of  wide  range,  and 
frequently  turned  upon  some  constitutional  right  or  pro 
hibition.  His  argument  in  the  famous  White  murder 
case,  tried  at  Salem,  Mass.,  is  one  of  the  most  noted  of 
his  renowned  pleas.  It  is  complete  in  every  detail,  but 
especially  remarkable  for  its  wonderful  analysis  of  the 
influence  of  conscience  and  fear  upon  human  action. 
Through  the  ages  it  will  be  known  as  a  classic  in  forensic 
speech,  and  will  lose  nothing  by  comparison  with  the  best' 
examples  of  ancient  and  modern  oratory. 

It  is  probable  that  WEBSTER  preferred  not  to  return  to 
Congress;  that  his  legal  and  oratorical  duties  were  congenial, 
and  vastly  more  remunerative  than  any  public  service; 
but  the  people  of  Boston  in  1822  insisted  that  he  should 
become  their  Representative,  and  from  that  time  until  1841 
his  service  in  House  and  Senate  was  continuous.  During 
all  these  years  his  life  was  so  crowded  with  private  and  pub 
lic  affairs  that  little  time  seems  to  have  been  reserved  for 
recreation.  No  one  without  his  wonderful  physical  and 
mental  organization  could  have  performed  such  continuous 
and  arduous  duties. 

No  year  of  his  Congressional  life  was  without  distin 
guished  service,  but  his  highest  reputation  as  an  orator 
and  a  statesman  was  secured  by  his  reply  to  Hayne.  It 
was  the  greatest  speech  ever  delivered  in  the  Senate,  and 
upon  it  Mr.  WEBSTER'S  fame  as  a  public  man  will  rest. 


260  Address  of  Mi-.  Baker  on  the 

Its  power  will  be  recognized  wherever  constitutional 
government  shall  exist.  Its  influence  was  "and  is  un 
bounded.  Every  schoolboy  has  declaimed  selections  from 
it,  and  each  year  it  is  taught  to  the  children  of  the  land 
and  lives  anew  in  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen.  No  one 
can  estimate  its  effect  when,  thirty  years  later,  the  theories 
of  Hayne  culminated  in  open  rebellion  and  the  issues 
of  the  old  debate  were  settled  by  an  appeal  to  arms. 
Throughout  the  loyal  North,  WEBSTER'S  defense  of  the 
Constitution  and  appeal  for  national  life  were  universally 
cherished.  The  people  had  enshrined  the  Union  in  their 
hearts,  and  they  freely  gave  their  treasure  and  lives  that 
"Liberty  and  Union"  should  ever  be  "one  and  insep 
arable." 

In  1841  Mr.  WEBSTER  resigned  his  seat  in  the  Senate 
and  became  Secretary  of  State  under  President  Harrison, 
and  after  the  latter' s  death  retained  the  office  under  Presi 
dent  Tyler  until  May,  1843.  During  these  two  years  he 
proved  himself  a  successful  diplomatist.  By  the  Ashbur- 
ton  treaty,  and  the  negotiations  attending  it,  he  established 
the  northern  and  eastern  boundaries  of  the  United  States, 
secured  the  extradition  of  criminals,  and  enforced  his 
denial  of  the  ' '  right  of  search  ' '  by  an  argument  so  unan 
swerable  that  the  British  claim  has  ever  since  been 
abandoned  and  every  ship  finds  its  protection  in  its  na 
tional  flag. 

Upon  his  retirement  from  the  Department  of  State  he 
returned  to  his  home  at  Marshfield,  attended  to  his  private 
affairs,  which  had  been  too  long  neglected,  and  renewed 
the  practice  of  his  profession. 

But  his  State  and  party  would   not  permit  him  to  retire 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.        261 

from  public  life,  and  in  1845  he  was  reelected  to  the  Senate. 
At  once  he  became  prominent  in  its  deliberations,  defended 
-the  Ashburton  treaty  in  an  elaborate  argument,  opposed 
the  annexation  of  Texas,  deprecated  the  war  with  Mexico, 
and  delivered  his  famous  ' '  7th  of  March  speech, ' '  which 
disappointed  his  constituents,  alienated  many  friends,  and 
brought  upon  him  the  condemnation  of  the  North.  The 
opposition  to  him  steadily  increased,  and  embittered  his 
life;  it  may  have  hastened  his  death.  It  could  not  obliter 
ate  his  patriotic  public  service  or  destroy  the  glory  of  the 
past.  That  was  secure,  and  brightens  with  the  years. 

In   1850  he  again  resigned    his  seat  in  the    Senate  to 
become  Secretary  of  State.      He  was  the  leader  of  Mr. 
Fillmore's  Administration.      No  great  international  ques-"- 
tions  required  his  attention,   but    the   honor  and    dignity 
of  our  country  were  fully  maintained. 

Mr.  WEBSTER  was  no  longer  a  young  man.  His  health 
and  strength  were  impaired,  but  he  continued  to  discharge 
his  duties  as  Secretary  of  State  until  the  8th  of  September, 
when  he  returned  home,  and  died  October  24,  1852.  His 
last  words,  "I  still  live,"  are  emblematic  of  the  loving 
memory  in  which  his  life  and  services  are  held  by  his 
countrymen. 

No  American  life  is  comparable  with  his.  The  poor 
New7  Hampshire  boy  had  struggled  through  school  and 
college  into  his  profession,  had  won  a  place  in  its  front 
rank,  had  represented  his  native  and  adopted  States  in 
Congress,  had  become  a  Senator  and  won  an  imperishable 
Siame  as  the  ' '  Defender  of  the  Constitution, ' '  had  managed 
the  foreign  affairs  of  his  country  with  discretion  and  credit, 
securing  recognition  of  the  inviolability  of  American  citi- 


262  Address  of  Mr.   Baker  on  the 

zenship  and  the  sanctity  of  his  country's  flag,  and  had  five 
times  been  presented  to  his  party  by  prominent  and  enthus 
iastic  admirers  for  nomination  to  the  Presidency.  Such, 
in  brief,  is  the  life  which  we  commemorate  to-day  by  the 
statue  presented  to  the  nation. 

WEBSTER  needs  no  monuments  or  statues;  but  the  world 
is  enriched  by  every  testimonial  to  great  talents,  to  high 
resolve,  to  noble  endeavor,  and  to  patriotic  service,  which 
stimulates  the  people  to  right  thought  and  earnest  action, 
teaching  them  not  only  to  understand  public  affairs,  but 
wisely  to  discharge  their  share  of  a  government  for  and  by 
themselves. 

Mr.  Speaker,  I  move  the  adoption  of  the  pending 
resolutions. 

The  resolutions  offered  by  Mr.  Blair  were  again  read,  and 
were  unanimously  adopted. 

DECEMBER  21,  1894. 

A  message  from  the  Senate,  by  Mr.  Platt,  one  of  its 
clerks,  announced  that  the  Senate  had  passed  the  following 
resolutions;  in  which  the  concurrence  of  the  House  was 
requested : 

Resolved  by  the  Senate  (the  House  of  Representatives  concurring], 
That  the  thanks  of  Congress  be  presented  to  the  State  of  New 
Hampshire  for  the  statue  of  DANIEL  WEBSTER,  a  citizen  of  that 
State,  illustrious  for  historic  renown  and  for  distinguished  civic 
service. 

Resolved,  That  the  statue  be  accepted  and  placed  in  the  National 
Statuary  Hall  in  the  Capitol,  and  that  a  copy  of  these  resolutions, 
duly  authenticated,  be  transmitted  to  his  excellency  the  governor  of 
New  Hampshire. 


Acceptance  of  the  Statue  of  Daniel  Webster.       263 

The  SPEAKER.  The  Chair  will  call  the  attention  of  the 
gentleman  from  New  Hampshire.  On  yesterday  afternoon 
the  House  passed  a  concurrent  resolution  and  sent  it  to  the 
Senate.  The  Senate  has  passed  a  concurrent  resolution 
and  sent  it  to  the  House.  The  Chair  would  suggest  to  the 
gentleman  from  New  Hampshire  that  the  House  had  better 
concur  in  the  Senate  resolution. 

Mr.  BAKER,  of  New  Hampshire.  Will  it  not  become 
necessary  to  reconsider  our  vote? 

The  SPEAKER.  Not  at  all. 

Mr.  BAKER,  of  New  Hampshire.  Then  I  move  that  the 
House  concur  in  the  Senate  resolution. 

The  resolution  was  read,  as  follows: 

Resolved  by  the  Senate  (the  House  of  Representatives  concurring], 
That  the  thanks  of  Congress  be  presented  to  the  State  of  New 
Hampshire  for  the  statue  of  DANIEL  WEBSTER,  a  citizen  of  that 
State,  illustrious  for  historic  renown  and  for  distinguished  civic 
service. 

Resolved,  That  the  statue  be  accepted  and  placed  in  the  National 
Statuary  Hall  in  the  Capitol,  and  that  a  copy  of  these  resolutions, 
duly  authenticated,  be  transmitted  to  his  excellency  the  governor  of 
New  Hampshire. 

The  concurrent  resolution  was  adopted. 


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